Memoirs of a Master
by Luna Goldsun
Summary: Months after Tai Lung's defeat, Shifu has been shutting himself away. When Po and the Five investigate, they discover more about their beloved master than they ever thought possible.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda. End of story.

This was an idea that popped into my head late one night, shortly after finishing "That's Why They Call It The Present". This takes place in a 'verse completely different from "Present" (my OCs from that fic don't make an appearance here) and is purely experimental, so let me know what you think, _please_!

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

Po was getting worried. Master Shifu had not been out amongst them, training as he usually did. Lately, the old master had been secluding himself in his quarters, his candle often burning long into the night, long after the panda and the Furious Five were asleep. It had not escaped Po's notice, and it most certainly had not escaped the notice of the other five.

Tigress was especially worried, though she hid her concern beneath her usual stoic demeanor. Crane wisely held his tongue, but it was clear that he, like Po, had a notoriously difficult time masking his emotions. Monkey, Mantis, and Viper wisely stayed out of it as well.

Whenever Shifu did leave his quarters, it was usually for a bite to eat, which he would take with him. The Five were used to him dining alone; Po didn't want to tolerate it. But what could he honestly do?

Dragon Warrior or no, there were some boundaries one did not step over. Forcing his master to eat with his students was one of them. Demanding to know what was going on was another.

The Five kept the panda distracted the same way they distracted themselves: through intense training. After a few weeks turned into a few months though, and as frost began to cover the fallen leaves of the courtyard, the others began to get very concerned indeed. They understood that being prepared for any threat, especially so soon after the defeat of Tai Lung, was vital.

But even someone like Master Shifu had limits.

* * *

"We can't interrupt him."

"What would we be interrupting?"

"He could be meditating or…something."

"I don't buy it. If he wants to meditate, why not do it with _us_, his _students_?"

"Tigress has a point. Something feels very wrong here."

The six of them were sitting around the kitchen table, talking over the situation at hand. The summer's heat long gone, everyone now covered themselves in long, thick clothes. Even Po for all his "insulation" as he put it, still wore the long-sleeved white robe, which reminded him of the outfit he wore in his dreams, before becoming a kung fu master.

He served seconds for everyone while Viper poured more tea. The serpent looked pensive, "Why doesn't someone just _ask_ what he's doing? I'm sure he'd be kind enough to answer if he knew how concerned we were."

"I don't know," Mantis said, "Can we remember a time when Master Shifu was ever open with us?"

The table stayed silent.

Despite the full plate in front of him, Po wasn't feeling hungry. He finally stood and stated, "I don't care. I'm going to find out what's wrong, right now…"

"Is something wrong?"

"Master!"

The six turned to the doorway and saw Shifu standing there, regarding them cautiously. "What is going on?"

"Exactly what we want to know," Po said, crossing his arms. "Why have you been shutting yourself away?"

"What? What are you talking about…"

"You've been having all your meals in your room," Po said accusingly.

"We haven't seen you in the training hall for weeks!" Viper said worriedly.

"I can feel my form slipping," Tigress said, "And you're the only one I know who can help…" She was not used to wearing her emotions on her sleeve; pointing out something like this—true or not—was just her way of showing concern.

Shifu saw the looks on his students' faces and sighed, "Forgive me then, I did not realize how my actions have affected you. I am truly sorry."

"We just want to know what you've been doing," Po said.

"Are you sick?" Mantis asked.

"I am not sick," Shifu said. "There has just been a lot on my mind…"

"We've been worried," Crane said. "We know you're not really one to share, but…"

Shifu actually smiled. "Of course. I would be happy to tell you what's been going on…"

"MASTER SHIFU!"

The red panda froze and rolled his eyes, sighing wearily. "_Yes_, Zeng?"

The avian messenger collapsed on the floor, holding up a scroll. "This…came for…you…"

Shifu took the scroll, "From…?"

"The…the seal says 'Dong Li'."

Shifu's face paled at an alarming rate; he tore off the red wax seal and opened the scroll immediately. His blue eyes quickly skimmed the document, and the haunted look that had crossed his face now faded to one of combined confusion and sorrow. Letting out the breath he realized he was holding, Shifu rolled up the scroll and handed it back to Zeng. "Send a message back; tell him I'll be there, and that I'm on my way."

"Master Shifu?" Monkey asked.

"Who's Dong Li?" Crane asked.

Shifu paused before answering, then sighed, "He's an old friend…and someone he and I were both close to is on their deathbed. I need to leave immediately. Tigress, I'm leaving you in charge while I'm away. Make sure Po continues his training. Crane, Monkey, keep tutoring him in the 1000 scrolls. Viper, Mantis…" he eyed Po for a moment, then added, "Keep the infirmary well-stocked."

"But…" Po started.

"We'll talk more when I get back. I promise."

Po sighed and opened a cupboard door, handing the master a parcel wrapped in brown rice paper, "Here, it's some of that endurance food you make us take on long trips."

Shifu accepted it gratefully. "Thank you, Dragon Warrior…you have no idea how much this means to me."

"Can you stay for dinner, at least?"

"No, I need to get going. I have a long way to travel, and very little time to make it there. You all will do well for two weeks, at least?"

Two weeks? Po looked around the table and sighed. They'd gone four months without his constantly being around. What was two more weeks?

"We'll get by."

"Good. Oh, one last thing: stay out of my quarters."

* * *

Po let out a yelp as Tigress yanked him back sharply. "NO," she nearly roared. "Master told us not to!"

"Come on! You have to admit you're just a little curious!"

"Haven't you heard the saying 'curiosity killed the cat'?" she asked with an arched brow.

"Yeah, the _cat_, not the panda, or the tiger."

"Absolutely not!" she seethed. "I am not betraying my master's trust!"

"We're not betraying his trust—we're genuinely worried about him, and we want to know what's been keeping him…"

"Po, if you do not turn back _right now_, I'm going to eviscerate you." He saw from the look in her eyes that she was perfectly serious.

They were maybe five yards from the door to Master Shifu's rooms when they heard the doors creak open. Tiger and panda looked down the hall and spied Viper and Monkey; both masters froze, staring wide-eyed in surprise at being caught. The four looked at each other, Tigress surprised most of all.

"Uh…" Viper started.

"We're changing his sheets," Monkey said quickly.

"Yes! Changing the sheets, dusting, sweeping…he'll be gone two weeks, and nothing's better than coming home to a clean room, right?" Viper backed him up.

Tigress gritted her teeth, seething, "I can't believe you! You're just going to disobey—"

"Oh come on, Tigress, like you don't want to know, too."

"I'm not betraying my master's trust!"

"Yes, we gathered that," Monkey said. "But wouldn't it mean a lot to him if you showed how much you cared by taking care of his things?"

"We're not supposed to—"

"We'll let you water his orchids," Viper offered. "Technically its not _touching_ anything, and you can always blame us later."

Po walked over to them before Tigress could protest further; besides, with the other two there, she was less likely to carry out her threat. Tigress finally groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose in defeat. "Fine, I'll get the water can…"

* * *

"Whoa."

'Whoa' was right, and so was Crane. They had all expected Master Shifu to keep his place impeccably clean. Instead, his bed was unmade, a jumbled mess of sheets and blankets, papers littering the floor, half-eaten food still sitting on dirty plates, and candles long-since burned out, as if he couldn't be bothered to take care of himself.

"This is worse than I thought," Crane confessed.

"Has he…done _anything_ for himself in here?" Mantis wondered.

"At least he's eaten," Monkey said, collecting the plates.

Po looked over at Tigress, who looked ready to drop the water can in her hands. She looked pale, and finally, worry was etched into her face. She'd lowered her shield, and now didn't seem to care who knew.

"I…I don't understand," she whispered. On the windowsill, Shifu's prize orchid plants were withering.

Something was very wrong here.

Viper and Mantis had stripped the bed of the dirty linens and Monkey returned soon after with fresh ones. Tigress wordlessly put the water can down and took the dirty blankets out to be washed.

She stopped when she passed his writing desk. This didn't escape Po's notice.

"What's wrong?"

She just stared at the open scroll in front of her. She knew she shouldn't, that it was an invasion of his privacy, but…she couldn't tear her eyes away.

Crane walked over and read over her shoulder. His eyes widened.

"'A story like mine should never be told'," he started reading aloud. "'For most of my life, I have kept things—my past, my thoughts, desires and dreams—so close to the chest that I could not see how my actions affected others. Even in my autumn years, I have not learned my lesson. Perhaps I am just a stubborn old fool, and will never learn. That does not mean I should not tell my story. Maybe my life can serve as a didactic tale, and teach others not to make the same mistakes I did…'"

Crane looked around the room at everyone; frozen in place, they all stared back.

"Its…it's a memoir."

Tigress pulled her eyes away. "We should leave it be…this is…"

"Yoink!" Po grabbed it.

"PO!" she yelled, dropping the blankets and trying to snatch the scroll away from him. But she realized with dissatisfaction that she'd trained him too well—he was able to keep it out of her reach. "We need to leave it here! We've overstepped our boundaries too much as it is!"

Then Viper took it.

"No," she said firmly. The other five warriors stared at her in surprise. The serpent looked back, a determined look on her face. "No. We have spent our entire lives serving him, training with him, we've devoted our lives to him, and now we've worried about him ever since Tai Lung was defeated. I don't care what Shifu says—I'm going to read this, I'm going to read everything he's written, and we are all going to learn about his life…whether he likes it or not."

"Are you out of your mind?" Mantis asked. "He'd kill us!"

"Not if we start reading now and finish before he gets back," Monkey said slowly. "But lets finish in here first. I want to know as much as Viper does…"

"Me too," Crane said.

"Yup, ditto," Po said.

Mantis sighed and raised his arm, "Fine…"

All eyes turned to Tigress, who looked utterly conflicted; should she dare to disobey her master, after he had done so much for her? A nagging thought suddenly entered her mind: had he written anything about her? And if he did, what had he said? _No, its none of my business…_

But she had spent her whole life wanting to please him. Now both her mind and heart were aching, and she wanted, no, _needed_ to know.

With a resigned sigh, she said, "Count me in."

Less than a half hour later, they were all settled in Shifu's room, and Crane continued reading…

* * *

I can remember very little of my early life. What I do remember is rice paddies. Many of them. My family and I were farmers; I don't know if we were poor or relatively well-off, but I don't recall ever going hungry. I know my father was a respected man, a hard worker, and my mother was a sweet, affectionate woman who adhered to the Confucian Four Virtues. We were a traditional family, with my paternal grandmother, her two sons—my father and his brother—Uncle, Aunt, and two cousins, my Elder Brother, Second Brother, and me, Third Brother.

Did you always think my name had been Shifu? No, that came much later.

I was the youngest in the family, but not the lowest in rank; those were my two female cousins. Sadly, that was the way in the country; women had very little value in the family, except to marry well and bear sons. I'm glad I never had to adhere to that. When my father died, I would be subservient to both Elder Brother and Second Brother. It wasn't much of a life to live. But it mattered little to me; my childhood was happy.

My brothers and I would run along the paddies, dodging cattails and chasing dragonflies on lazy summer days, splashing in the water until we angered some farmers who chased us away for disturbing the rice. Elder Brother had a ball that we would play with, and when I say we, I really mean he and Second Brother would play a game of "keep the ball from Third Brother". It was cruel, it was unfair, but we were boys, and we knew it was the natural order of things.

Or so _I_ thought.

I was perhaps, oh, four, maybe, when one summer's day we were greeted by a most unusual sight. Second Brother had caught the ball, but dropped it. I took advantage of my smaller size and dashed to grab it, skidding in the dust and coming to a stop right at the scaly feet of a stranger.

And a _strange_ stranger at that!

He held an old staff, as gnarled as his skin, which was green as moss, or what I supposed jade to look like (I was four, and the son of a farmer—what did I know of what jade looked like?). He was bigger than me, much bigger than even Elder Brother, who stood back warily with Second Brother. I was all alone.

I should have been afraid. Strangers were treated with suspicion. Very few traveled to our home. We were surrounded by badlands and the territories of bandits.

But this scaly…thing…lowered his head—what a long neck he had!—and smiled at me.

I smiled back. He had a kindly wrinkled face, just like Grandmother, and I knew she was nice.

He slowly pointed at the ball I had wrapped my small body around. "You had better be more careful, young one," he said. "It would not be good to hurt yourself, with all these sharp rocks around."

I liked him. As a four year old, I liked him; he spoke slowly, thoughtfully, like Grandmother did, his voice overflowing with firmness and wisdom, his eyes deep and green as sage.

"Thanks, mister!" I chirped.

He chuckled, patting my head with his hand. "What is your name, young one?"

I stood up, having a hard time keeping the ball in my arms, for it was quite large, and I was still quite small. "I'm called Third Brother. Those are my brothers, back there."

"I see…how interesting," the old traveler said, still smiling at me. "Can you tell me what village I am in?"

"Uh…" I trailed off. I was four—I could barely remember the very basic characters to spell my name!

"The Southern Zhou-Tong village," Elder Brother said. "Our father is the second-in-command. May we take you to our home?"

"That would be lovely, young man," the old traveler said. He held out his hand to me; I just stared at it. He chuckled—he seemed to like doing that. "There is nothing to fear, Third Brother," he said kindly. "It only looks frightening."

It looked like he had long claws, like the kind only monsters had. But he didn't look like a monster. He was funny-looking, certainly, but no monster. I finally smiled back and took his hand, dropping the ball. I bounced up and down excitedly; I had the honor of bringing a visitor home! My brothers wouldn't be leading him, _I _would!

The tortoise (I had never seen a tortoise before, and didn't know what one was until Grandmother told me) allowed me to lead him, and I can only imagine with the utmost embarrassment now how we must have looked: me, a tiny little fuzzy sprite pulling on the long arm of a nearly 1000-year-old tortoise, who was remarkably patient. Most adults would wave me away, call me a nuisance, tell me I was an embarrassment to my ancestors (harsh words, yes, but we heard these kinds of things every day).

But he watched me, studied my every move, and listened to my incessant chatter. My brothers tried to shush me, tell me to mind my manners, but honestly, what toddler ever remembers what manners are? Still, the tortoise never said anything to rebuke me; no wonder I liked him so much.

I didn't know at the time who Master Oogway was. I had no clue he created kung fu. I didn't even know what kung fu was. I just knew he was a kind old man, a patient man, and someone always at peace. In years to come, some of my first impressions turned out to be true, others, not true at all.

What surprises me even today is how easily my relationship started with him. Or more accurately, how strong a bond we started on a humid and hot summer day.

* * *

"Is there more?" Po asked.

"Of course there is, just be patient…" Crane said.

* * *

My father was still in the fields when we arrived home. My mother was shocked to see we had company, and apologized profusely for the state of our home. It wasn't bad, I thought. It wasn't anything fancy, certainly, but it was a typical farmer's home: a packed-earth floor, bedrolls stored away during the day, a fire always going in the hearth, chili peppers and other vegetables drying as they hung from the rafters, and, at least in our house, Grandmother knitting, weaving cloth, and spinning wool donated by the sheep who lived next door.

Mother quickly brewed tea and prepared something for our guest to eat, and was, fortunately, too busy to rebuke me for pestering him with a barrage of questions. Finally, she finished her work and grabbed an ear, twisting it.

"Mind your manners! He is a guest!"

Oogway held up his hand, "Peace, Mother, he is just a child. Too many children grow up too quickly…let him be, he is not bothering me.

Then I asked a horrid question: "How did you get so old?"

My family looked horrified. But Oogway just laughed, "My, how bright you are! And so full of questions…"

"I am _very_ sorry, sir," my mother said, smacking my rump. "You are right, he is still just a young child…"

"Mother," he said again. "I never said it was a bad thing. It is good to ask questions. How do we learn if we do not question the world around us?"

My mother said nothing, but the look she shot me said enough: 'Just wait until your father gets home'.

I was in _deep_ trouble. I hoped he wouldn't ask me to go out and cut him a switch like he did when Elder Brother and Second misbehaved. Unfortunately, my father returned at that precise moment, a no-nonsense look on his face. He'd heard my impertinent question.

But Master Oogway came to my rescue, standing and warmly greeting my father. "Ah, and this must be the husband and father…it is an honor to meet you…"

My father froze, dropping the firewood in his arms in shock. Even though a log landed on his foot, he didn't flinch. He was staring open-mouthed at Oogway.

He dropped down to his knees and kowtowed, "Forgive us, sir! We did not realize _you _were our guest! Please, accept our sincerest apologies, Master Oogway…"

My mother's grip on my shoulder tightened, her face pale. Grandmother just looked surprised. Oogway bid my father to stand, "There is no reason to apologize. Your family has been very kind to me, and quite hospitable. And your sons are so well-behaved…"

Father and Mother shared a look, as if they had no clue what he was talking about. Was he referring to the same children they _thought_ he was referring to?

"Especially your youngest," he smiled at me. "I've never met a more curious child, and so full of energy. I can feel it; his chi is quite strong…"

"My older sons have energy as well," my father said quickly. "Third Brother is just four, and the youngest, with one of the lowest ranks in our family. He is not worth much…"

Again, harsh words, but we were a superstitious folk; to bring compliments on one's children was to invite the evil spirits to take them away. Since many children didn't live past five years, my family wasn't taking any chances. My father's words probably saved me.

Oogway just nodded. "Yes, of course."

"Would you like to join us for dinner?" Mother offered. "We don't have much, for we are but farmers…"

"Anything you serve will be a blessing, Mother," he said kindly, his smile widening when she smiled. "I would be delighted to spend more time with your family. It warms my heart to see such love and kindness during my travels; it reinstates my faith in people."

This made my father's heart swell with pride. He offered Oogway the best seat at our table, which he politely refused. He wanted no special treatment, and this bothered my parents. Instead, he took a seat amongst us children. I was first at the table and sat next to him, still chattering away. Mother had to remind me several times to stop speaking and finish my dinner; but when Oogway suggested that finishing would be a good idea, I ate everything. Up until the day he passed into the next life, he had a funny way of getting me to do things I didn't initially want to do.

Once I was finished, I felt Grandmother's hand on my shoulder; my heart filled with dread. She was planning the worst possible fate for any tot: the after-dinner bath.

Not oh, thirty seconds to a minute later, I was little more than a ball of fluff, curled up and clinging to the house's rafters while my family hurled threats and promises of spankings in my general direction. I stuck my tongue out like a little brat, repeated a toddler's favorite word: "No!"

"Get down here this instant!"

"No!"

"Come down now, or I'm coming up there!" my father threatened.

"No!"

If there was one thing I should respect Father for, he kept his word. He climbed up onto a chair and up the wall. By the time he reached out to me, I jumped. My mother screamed in horror, watching helplessly as I grabbed onto a bunch of drying chili peppers, before dropping onto the table. By then, I was a blur, dashing all over the house, avoiding each of my family members as they tried to grab me. It wasn't easy, considering there were so many in such a confined space.

Oogway just sat and stared as I dashed around, running in circles around the table legs, sliding under chairs and stools, climbing up various furniture, successfully dodging each attempt to grab me.

I skidded to a stop as I came dangerously close to falling into the bathtub. My parents and grandmother had me cornered. I was doomed. I took one last-ditch effort and jumped up, onto the rim of the bathtub and up onto the fireplace mantle, running along it and to the door.

Then Oogway caught me, cutting short my desperate dash for freedom. I looked at him, feeling betrayed. My mother finally grabbed me and shoved me into the soapy water, and began scrubbing harder than usual as a punishment. She didn't scold me; to do so would have been rude to our guest.

As I sulked, Father apologized to Master Oogway. To no one's surprise, the tortoise didn't object. Instead, he lowered his voice and spoke in hushed tones with my father. I couldn't hear what they were talking about, but little did I know as my mother set me down for bed that what they were discussing would change my life forever.

* * *

I was the first to wake the next morning, and got out of bed before my brothers awoke to begin their chores. I hoped that the tortoise had stayed the night—I couldn't imagine my parents sending him away. I checked the room—he wasn't there. Crestfallen, I went outside instead, figuring I could make it up to my parents by trying to do my brothers' chores so they wouldn't be as mad for my high jinks the night before.

I walked to the well, struggling with the bulky buckets, and I squealed in delight as I saw the tortoise. He had stayed after all! I dropped the buckets and trotted over to him. He was doing something I didn't think possible—he was balancing upside-down on the top of his staff.

Well, any child who starts to admire someone seeks to do everything their hero does. Sons typically try to be just like their fathers, but that was an honor Elder Brother had already. I wanted to be just like Oogway. So, I decided to try standing on my head.

I fell on my back the first time, but I got right back up and tried again. I teetered, then fell over a second time. Incidentally, I never outgrew my stubbornness.

After the fifth time or so, Oogway finally came out of his meditation and helped me balance. I grinned when I finally got it; when he pulled his hand away from my back, I was standing on my head all by myself!

His smile looked like a frown from my position, but I knew he was pleased. "Precocious, determined…a bit of a perfectionist, as well," he mused. "It seems I've made a good choice, Small One."

Small One. Little did I know that would be my name until Oogway bestowed a new one upon me. I wasn't to become Shifu for another few years. Master Oogway was waiting for the right time, and the right milestone, whatever that would be.

I fell over again. When I sat up, my head was swimming from all the blood going to it. And now my back and rump hurt from falling hard on it. Like all toddlers are apt to do, I started to cry.

Oogway gently patted my back, "There, there, Small One, there is no reason to cry."

Sniffling, I sobbed, "I can't do what you do! An', an'…I wanna know how!"

Oogway's smile widened. "Do you? How much would you like to learn?"

Who could have predicted how my simplistic answer would change the course of my life? "E-everything…" I sniffed.

Oogway nodded and helped me stand, brushing off dirt from my homespun clothes. "Then we'll go ask your father. If you truly want to learn all I can teach you, then I will not object."

Naturally, I worried my father would say no.

But when I woke up the next morning, I discovered that he, Oogway, and myself were going on a journey, and we were leaving that very morning. I was so excited; I had never left the village before, and the thought of going on an adventure like the characters of Grandmother's stories was exhilarating.

Two weeks later, I saw the Valley of Peace for the first time. Three days later, Father left me in Oogway's care, and returned home. I had cried for many days after he left. I was in a new place, with no friends, no family, and the only companions were the swine and waterfowl that served Master Oogway at the Jade Palace.

There was a lot I needed to get used to. Some of it was easy. Waking early was simple as it was habit already, and I did whatever chores my master gave me to do. But I soon learned there was more to the repetitive tasks he gave me…

I learned to read, and quite quickly at that. I marveled how the brushstrokes formed characters, pictures on a page, and pictures in my head. I learned to meditate (well, I learned the mechanics of it. I don't think I learned how to truly meditate until well into my teens).

One day, right after I had turned five, I asked my master what I was doing there. Why was I, the lowest-ranked son in my father's home, bestowed the honor of being sent away to learn to read, and do chores, and sit still for hours at a time? Why me, and not my brothers? Did they not deserve the honor of attending a school more than I?

Oogway answered my question with another question; he was quite fond of that. And riddles, too, which sometimes irritated me in my youth. "Why must a fledgling leave his mother's nest? Why must he fly far away from home, to a place no one has ever known before?"

"Isn't that bird scared to go so far away?" I asked, too young to realize that the bird was me.

"Is he frightened?" Oogway asked. "Or, perhaps, is he just following his destiny?"

* * *

"Come on, there _has_ to be more!" Po groaned.

Crane sighed and shook his head. "That's it for this one."

Viper had an odd look on her face, like she was trying to hold something in, or force a smile from her lips. Finally she let out a long, drawn out, "AWW! I bet he was _so cute_ as a baby!"

Mantis chuckled, "I'm having a hard time seeing him running from a bath like that."

"Doesn't make it any less funny," Monkey laughed, snickering at the mental image of a fluffy four-year-old Shifu sulking in a tub of soapy water.

Tigress had her own thoughts to add, "So that's why Oogway took him as a student…"

"Huh? What d'ya mean?" Po asked.

She looked at him, "Oogway must have seen Shi—I mean, Third Brother's agility and speed, and saw potential there. He was the wisest of us all, and gifted with foresight. He must have gone to that village looking for Master…"

"I wonder what happened to his family though?" Crane wondered. "And what he was like as a student…"

The silence in the room was ironically deafening. Each of the six knew what they wanted to do, but were afraid to follow through on it. What if what they sought didn't exist? No, that wasn't possible; if this was what Shifu had been working on, there _had_ to be more…

"Where'd you think he stashed the goods?" Mantis wondered.

"Under the mattress?"

"Clean," Monkey said, shaking his head.

"Closet?" Po offered.

"Under a floorboard," Tigress said suddenly. They stared; how would she know? She blushed, "I saw him putting something under the floor, many years ago…I think, it's where he keeps things that are sacred to him…"

"Sweet, lets go," Po said, standing.

"NO!" Tigress shouted. "Didn't you hear me? I've already disobeyed my master, I'm not performing sacrilege to objects important to him!"

"Well, _you're_ not doing it, _I_ am, and I promise to take the heat for it, for all of you," Po said to them. "No sense in you all getting kicked out."

"We've already invaded his privacy anyway," Monkey reasoned. "Besides, he left that scroll open for everyone to see. Might as well know everything else about him…"

* * *

Please let me know what you think. This was just an idea that popped into my head. Please read and review, and let me know if I should continue.


	2. Chapter 2

**Memoirs of a Master**

**Chapter 2**

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda anymore than I have two heads and raise alpacas for their wool. (Psst, that means I don't own it).

Well, since the feedback has been especially kind, I'll go ahead and continue this. It won't be as long as "Present" but its something I hope will be successful nonetheless. Posting mid-week because, well, I'm proud of this chapter and I can't wait until Friday to share.

* * *

When the gong sounded the next morning, all six warriors, as was their habit, emerged from their rooms and shouted "Good morning, Master!" before they realized they had completely forgotten he was gone. They cast confused looks around before Mantis said, "Oh wait…"

Tigress rubbed the back of her neck. "Ah…force of habit?"

"Good call," Crane said.

"Okay…breakfast?" Po offered.

They all paused, looking at each other; they knew with Shifu gone—and Tigress in charge—that _not_ training was out of the question. But the feline surprised them:

"Why not? I'm starved. And actually…I'm still a little sore from yesterday. Why not take the day off?"

Jaws dropped up and down the hall. All five stared at her incredulously, each thinking _who is this tiger and what has she done with Tigress_?

Po stared at her. "Are you…feeling alright?"

She glared back, "I'm _fine_, Panda. I'm allowed to be hungry, aren't I? Now, are we eating or am I going to change my mind?"

Po was down the hall in an instant, at a speed no giant panda should possess. Viper turned to her only female friend with an accusing stare, "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were up to something…"

Tigress noted the suspicious looks on everyone's faces. "Up to something? Me?"

Monkey sputtered out laughing; he smirked when Tigress glared at him. "Please, I've been here longer than you, I was here when you first started training," he said. "I _know_ you…Shifu trained you; heaven knows you're as devious as he is."

Tigress looked insulted, "Monkey, I am not planning anything. I'm hungry, tired, and my muscles are still sore. I'm mortal; that happens to mortals…"

"No, something's up," Mantis said. "You _never_ want a day off. You could be delirious with fever and still be training."

"_NOTHING_ is up!" she suddenly snapped. Taking a deep breath, she started to walk down the hall, fixing the long sleeves of her red robe. "Now let's go get some breakfast."

But she waited for them all to leave the dormitory, lagging behind a little. Then without their noticing, she slipped back into the dormitory and straight to Shifu's room…

Monkey had seen it all.

* * *

Tigress found the loose floorboard with minimal effort. She tore it off the floor, finding the cobwebs disturbed, cleared away from recent use. Reaching down into the cubbyhole, she pulled out all the scrolls that were hidden inside. She started opening them, searching for the knowledge she craved.

She knew what she was doing was wrong. She knew this was grounds to being kicked out. She knew what the consequences would be.

But she _had_ to know. The little part of her soul that still held on to that small child inside needed to know if Shifu had ever loved her, had ever been proud of her. She needed to know if all her years of training had been wasted. Damn what accomplishments she had done, to hell with every victory, every battle, every bloody knuckle, broken bone, bleeding cut and smarting bruise! All she wanted was to know whether or not he ever gave a damn about her.

And the answer to her question lay inside one of these scrolls.

"Not up to something, huh?"

The feline froze, dropping a scroll. Monkey picked it up, fixing her with a look. "I expected better…"

"And what would you have me do?!" she demanded.

Monkey sighed, "I know what you're looking for…"

"Then why are you trying to stop me?"

He took the other scrolls from her arms and placed them in a basket he had brought with him. "Because you won't find the answers you're looking for until you know the whole story. You're not the only one in this palace who wants to know why he is the way he is. You're not the only one who ever craved his approval." When he looked up at her, he was surprised to find tears had sprung into her eyes. "Tigress?"

She sniffed, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, her voice wavering, "There's…just a lot of dust in here. It bothers my eyes."

"Of course." He left it at that. "Well," he picked up the basket, heading for the door, "We're going to sit in the tea room. Crane's lit the brazier and the fire in there."

"Fire? This early?"

"Haven't you looked outside? There's snow on the ground."

She glanced out the window, and indeed, a thick layer of white covered the world outside. How very surprising, the snow was early this year; she silently sent a prayer to heaven that Shifu was safe in this weather.

"Come on," Monkey said. "You'll feel better once we get started on the next chapter…"

* * *

I had been at the Jade Palace for a year before Oogway decided the time had come to officially begin my training. He waited until the fifth anniversary of my birth; this was his tradition, he later explained. 'Let children enjoy being children' he would say. 'They are only young once.'

I figured the real reason was far more practical. China may have medical advancements far surpassing other civilizations, but many children still died before their fifth birthdays. Keeping children from training until five years of age was just to ensure their survival, to make sure they were strong enough to withstand vigorous training.

My training began slowly, I thought, though I have always been rather impatient. Oogway started with meditation, tai chi later in the morning, an hour of practicing forms then a break for lunch. After that, more forms, more tai chi, and ending the day with another hour of meditation. You may wonder why anyone would bother beginning with something like that but it was very intelligently designed.

When we are young, we are much more flexible than when we are older, but it still takes years to develop one's flexibility. Though only five, I was nimble enough as it was; as I see it, the true strength of kung fu lies in the body's ability to move. If the body can not perform even the basic actions, then any attacks are essentially worthless. The tai chi was a way to introduce the stretches to me; the forms were the very basic movements I would learn later on. The meditation was, of course, to help me focus. But what five-year-old is able to focus on something for longer than five minutes? Even five minutes is generous.

Difficult as it was, I wanted to impress my master. I wanted him to be proud of my accomplishments, but in order to do that; I needed to show how dedicated I was. Sometimes—well, most of the time—my "dedication" resulted in one too many injuries; later in my life, two students of mine, just as stubborn and dedicated as I was, had similar temperaments. To this day, I swear that Tai Lung _and_ Tigress were more stubborn than I ever was. But I am getting ahead of myself.

A year after I began my training, Oogway pulled me aside before tai chi practice to give me a piece of news.

"I have decided to take on three new students."

I should have been excited. I was devastated. After being his sole concern for the past year, he was replacing me with not one, but _three_ others? Had I not performed well enough? Was I doing too little, not trying hard enough?

He seemed to be able to read my thoughts. Patting my shoulder, he assured me, "Ah, Small One, do not fear. I have not forsaken you. It is my fondest wish to see you happy."

"But I _am_ happy, Master!" I said. "Every day, I am happy!"

"But lonely," he pointed out. "These three students, I am bringing on to be not just my students, but your friends. You will get along well with them, I can tell you that now."

"How, Master?" I asked. His ability to foretell future events was—and still is—a mystery to me.

He just chuckled and led me to the main gates of the Palace, where we were to meet my new comrades. "You shall see, Small One. You shall see."

Naturally, it took us a long time to reach the gates. A tortoise only moves so fast. As tempting as it was to just go on ahead, I respectfully stayed five steps behind my master. He had never asked me to do that, but the geese and pigs that served us did so, and I assumed that I needed to as well. Besides, I was his student, not his equal; to do anything else would have been downright disrespectful. You see, young as I had been when I left home, I still held on to my family's traditional teachings.

By the time we reached the arena, I was itching to run on ahead. That was, until I saw the six people waiting for us there.

The first one—and most imposing—was a rhino. He towered over Oogway, and certainly over me. I imagined this was what being an ant felt like. Standing next to this rhino was a smaller one, his son, perhaps? I didn't initially like this one's look: he had a hard face for someone so young, and I could tell from his eyes he had a lot of metal in his personality.

Next to the rhinos stood a wolf—I had never seen one, but had heard of them, and as much as I knew I should have been afraid of him, the way Oogway greeted him—with a hug, of all things!—and the wide grin on his face told me that he could be trusted. He was not like the bandits surrounding my village. He had an austere posture but a fair look in his eyes, and bowed in respect. Hiding behind him, however, I saw the second student.

He was a fox, as small as I, and much slighter. His red tail seemed bushier than mine, and he held onto it nervously. He looked back at me with nervous brown eyes, but cracked a smile; I smiled back. I didn't know why, but I liked him instantly.

As Oogway greeted the rhinos, I saw the third and final pair at the end of the line, and was astounded. Two cats, dressed in fine clothes, stood tall and proud, their fur the color of fresh-churned cream, but hands, feet, and face were a deep brown color (like they had dipped their faces and limbs in ink), with startling blue eyes. But it wasn't the fine clothes, higher social rank, and the fact they were feline that surprised me: they were both females.

Oogway greeted them, the older female hugging him tightly and smiling with closed lips—as was expected of women—and then he turned to me.

"Everyone, this is my newest student, whom I call Small One."

"Aptly named," the large rhino said, arms crossed over his chest.

Oogway slowly shook a finger at him, "Now, Terbish, you know as well as I not to judge a warrior on size alone. It is a lesson your son Ochir will learn as well." The smaller rhino looked up at his father then regarded Oogway suspiciously.

The wolf, his fur grey and speckled white with age in places, smiled and me and bowed a little; the fox kit did so as well. "A pleasure to meet you, Small One. I am Master Jian Qiang, and this is my student, Li."

"If he is your student already, why bring him here?" I asked, and rather impetuously. He just laughed, grinning at Oogway, "You weren't kidding when you said he was a curious one, Master! He must be an attentive and dedicated student."

I blushed, hanging my head; didn't this wolf know it was rude to compliment children in front of their elders, _especially_ with the child present? But Oogway didn't mind, so, I gathered, neither should I. He patted my head fondly, "One of the most promising I have trained; he reminds me much of one student I had many years ago."

Master Jiang Qiang smiled a secret smile, and presented his own student with a bow, "And Li is just as dedicated to learning the art from a true master…"

"You give yourself so little credit, Jian," Oogway shook his head.

"His potential far exceeds anything I could teach him. His star would shine brighter if he were your student, not mine."

How gracious of him! I credit Master Jian Qiang—who, I found out later, was quite the hero in the Northern provinces for fending off the Huns and other barbarians single-handedly—for teaching me my first lesson: the mark of a true warrior was, and always will be, humility.

The older female feline bowed gracefully to the tortoise, speaking softly and elegantly, "My daughter, too, has much to learn from you, Master."

Oogway smiled and beckoned the little kitten, who responded immediately, if not hesitantly. She was as curious as she was pretty, with wide innocent blue eyes. She smiled when Oogway did and bowed respectfully. "I humbly beg you teach me your art, Master," she said in a small voice.

"Girls don't learn kung fu," I said.

That was a _huge_ mistake, and I could tell immediately. The four adults went gravely silent, and even the huge rhino, Terbish, and his son, Ochir, looked worried. The mother cat was shocked. The female kitten looked livid.

"_What?"_ she hissed.

"Girls don't learn kung fu," I repeated. "A woman's place is in the home, and they're not supposed to show their teeth when they smile, and only speak when spoken to. The men in their families are their masters, and girls must always follow the Four Vir—"

She didn't let me finish.

She socked me, and hard. And it hurt. I lost four baby teeth that day thanks to her. She socked me, and then threw my sorry butt over her shoulder, throwing me onto the arena floor. She stood over me, seething, "Why you ignorant farmer's brat! Don't you _ever_ say that to me again or I'll put your lights out!"

"SONG!" her mother scolded, "That is _enough_, young lady!"

"He had it coming, Mama!"

Master Jian Qiang shrugged, "She has a point."

"You mustn't blame Small One," Oogway defended me. "He is still young, and impressionable. It seems I have forgotten he came from a very traditional family. Recall, you three—especially you, Terbish—used to believe the same."

"Yes," Terbish said, "But Miao Li never punched our faces in."

The mother, Master Miao Li—yes, _that_ Miao Li—just smiled slyly. "Not unless you deserved it."

Well, that explained where her daughter got it. I pulled myself back up, embarrassed and ashamed, my cheeks burning. Master Jian Qiang smiled at me though, "Do not be ashamed; how do we learn if we do not make mistakes first?"

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the three masters—former students of my master—all bowed and departed, leaving us four children in the care of the creator of kung fu.

Oogway bid us all to stand in line. He looked over at us, smiled and nodded, "Excellent. I can see you all perform splendidly. Who wants to begin?"

To no surprise, the rhino Ochir raised his hand, looking very eager, Li and Song just stood still, looking unsure.

Oogway smiled and beckoned us. "Then let us begin…"

"What'll we do first, Master Oogway?" Ochir asked. "Kung fu forms? A ten-mile hike? Dodging arrows in a field? An obstacle course…"

What in the _world_ was he talking about? I hadn't been trained in any of that—not to mention, the prospect of having to dodge arrows being fired at me terrified me to no end.

"Oh no, nothing of that sort," Oogway said. "We are going to lunch."

"Lunch?" Ochir sounded disappointed.

"Yes, lunch. I'm quite hungry, as I'm sure you all are."

"But…we're only supposed to get two meals a day. Aren't we?" the young rhino asked. He was perhaps seven or eight, so he must have been training since he could walk, was my guess. If this was his idea of training…well, I thought _my_ father was harsh!

"You are still growing," Oogway said. "Besides, so many children go hungry in this world…I refuse to have any go hungry here, under my care."

* * *

During the midday meal I got to know my fellow students a little better. A sow who worked in the infirmary treated my black eye before I sat to eat. She had to put a compress over my eye and fixed it in place with an eye patch. The fox, Li, turned to me and grinned, giggling, "You look like a pirate!"

I grinned back, thanking him when he helped serve my plate. My appetite failed me for several reasons though. I was excited, obviously, and couldn't wait to get started training with these new students, and I was nervous, because I had been thrown into this situation with three people I did not know at all. Thirdly, you would be surprised how quickly only being able to see through one eye can make you nauseous. I had to close my eyes during that meal, but Li was very helpful.

"Did you want some more vegetables, Small One?" he asked me.

"Yes please. Thank you, Li."

"Is that what your family calls you, Small One?" he asked.

I shook my head; Oogway answered for me while I was chewing, "His birth name is 'Fu'. In a few years, after you have completed your training and become masters, you will receive new names."

"So why don't you call him Fu?" Ochir asked. I didn't like his tone at all, or his impetuousness. He behaved very disrespectfully to my master—_our_ master—every question carrying an accusatory tone, biting and caustic to my ears.

Oogway sensed my dislike for him, surely. The tortoise just chuckled and said, "I suppose I _could_ call him that…but he has not told me if 'Small One' is bothersome to him."

"I don't mind!" I said quickly. "I like it!" I did, in all honesty. Oogway had only called me by my birth name once—and only once—and it was after I had done something particularly naughty. I was five, and I got into something I shouldn't have; no, I will _not_ say what it was. It's still too embarrassing to think of it. He hadn't raised a hand to discipline me as my parents would have. He just said my name—"Fu"—sternly, and that did it. Having him call me Small One was an endearment, which meant I was important to him. And what child doesn't want to feel they are the most important part of their caretaker's life?

Ochir just frowned and went back to eating.

The kitten, Song, ate slowly and reverently, with a grace that was too grown up for her small body. It was comical the way she lifted her chopsticks to her mouth that I couldn't help but laugh. If all rich people were so weird, I thought, who wants to be rich?

I noticed early on, though, that Oogway would not give her any special treatment. He spoke to all of us as he spoke to me, in riddles and rhetorical questions. We never spoke of serious subjects at the table. Oogway's rule was to avoid talk of politics, money and religion. But we were all under the age of eight—what did we know of these things?

By the time we were finished eating and the ducks that were attending us began to clear away the dishes, Oogway stood. "It is getting to be late in the day, and you must all be very tired from your journey. Small One, if you would show them to the dormitory, let them get settled in?"

I jumped at the chance, bowing in respect before leading them off. Song and Ochir were understandably silent, but Li was as curious as I was, asking many questions.

"How long have you been here?"

"Not long, only a year," I said. "I really like it here. I'm learning a lot. Master's taught me to read and write, how to meditate, and do tai chi and kung fu forms…"

"You've only been doing tai chi for a year?" Song said incredulously. "I've been doing it since I was three!"

"Tai Chi's a waste of time," Ochir said stubbornly. "He _should_ be teaching you how to throw punches, and kicks. You should be learning to fight already."

I could feel my ears and cheeks burning with embarrassment. These three had to be far ahead of me in training already; I thought I had been doing very well. It never occurred to me that kung fu could be taught to someone as young as three.

Li glared back at the rhino, "It is not a waste of time—Master Jian Qiang says that the strongest house has a firm foundation. You need a firm foundation before you can learn kung fu."

Ochir just snorted. Song, however, looked thoughtful. "I never thought of it like that…"

"It's true," Li said. "I don't know how to fight yet, but Master Oogway will teach us soon, I just know it. Right, Fu?"

I was startled he'd called me by my real name. He looked worried when I didn't answer right away. "He will," I said. "He doesn't think we're ready yet. But soon…"

"How soon?"

"Soon," I shrugged.

We finally reached the dormitory and we found that their belongings had been left outside the doors to their rooms. Song opened her door and was amazed. So were Ochir, and especially Li, who asked breathlessly, "We…we get our own rooms?"

"Yup," I said confidently. I could understand their astonishment. After sharing a single room with as large a family as mine, the concept of having my own room—my own personal space—the size of our house was as frightening as it was exciting. I barely slept the first few nights because I was not used to sleeping alone in such a large space. Usually I would share a bedroll with my brothers; when I explained this to Master Oogway, he gave me a smaller room. After that, I was at least able to sleep through the night. To this day, I feel more comfortable in smaller spaces.

Ochir was given the largest of the rooms, Song and Li taking rooms right across the hall. My room was at the end, closest to the door, and right next to Ochir's. Song and Ochir closed their doors immediately, a silent signal they wanted to be left alone. Li, however, still wanted my company. I happily obliged, helping him arrange his meager belongings. I hadn't brought much with me, either. Over time, Oogway had shown much kindness, such as allowing me a stuffed animal to keep me company at night. It was little kindnesses like this that only cemented my love and loyalty for my master.

I found out early on that Li was a persistent daydreamer. He was lucky there was so much wood in his personality that it kept him firmly rooted to the ground. Otherwise, he would no doubt have flown away like a bird from its nest.

He loved stories; Master Jian Qiang was a gifted storyteller, and had given the kit a scroll of his favorite tales and epics. Li put them reverently on a low shelf, next to a prayer candle. He pulled out two ancestor tablets too. I had never seen ancestor tablets up close. My family's tablets were in the village temple back home, but I was never allowed close enough to see them. Now that I knew how to read, I could read the names on the wooden tablets with red dots at the top.

"Who are they?" I asked as he set up a small altar. Li froze for a moment, his ears drooped.

"They were my parents," he said sadly. "I don't remember them. Master Jian knew them, though. He kept their tablets for me, and taught me how to honor them before he brought me here."

"Your master sounds very kind."

He nodded, "He is. I'm sorry I can't train with him anymore. I know he wants the best for me, but I really didn't want to leave…" He started to cry, sniffing and wiping away tears with the back of his hand. I hugged him; back then, I wasn't afraid to show affection. Children have an easier time of it than adults, clearly.

"It's okay," I said. "I cried too. But you'll like it here. Once you start training, everything will get better, you'll see. The Palace is now your home."

He sniffed, looking at me with tear-filled eyes. It was the first time I realized he was younger than me—this was harder for him than it had been for me. "My home…I like the sound of that."

I grinned, "See? It'll be okay." I paused, noticing how uncomfortable he was at his new surroundings. I saw in him what I felt the first time I slept alone. "Do you want me to sleep in here with you?" I asked.

Li's face lit up, "Would you?"

"Yeah, I don't mind. If it means helping you settle in, I don't mind at all!"

"Sure," he smiled. "I'd like that."

I hopped up to get my bedroll. When I returned, he and I stayed up past our bedtime, chattering away as small children do. One of the pigs who looked after us finally scolded us for staying up so late, so we lay down to sleep.

Before I dozed off, Li whispered in the darkness, "Fu? Are you asleep yet?"

"No. What's up?"

I could tell he was smiling, even though I couldn't see him. "Do you want to be friends?"

"You bet!" I said. "Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah. Thanks for sleeping with me."

"You're welcome," I yawned, turning over. "Good night, Li."

I heard the smile in his voice, "Good night, Fu."

Though he fell asleep almost instantly, I was excited beyond description. I couldn't keep the grin from my face. Finally, I had my first real friend!

* * *

I woke Li early, before the gong sounded. I thought that, jumpy as he was, hearing the gong might startle him. We stood outside our rooms, awaiting Master Oogway. The tortoise appeared early, smiling at us. He sent a special look towards me and I puffed out my little chest like a proud rooster. He was proud of me helping Li like that! But it was eerie how he knew; how could he have known what I had done?

The gong sounded, and Li followed my example: "Good morning, Master!"

Ochir and Song's doors didn't open right away. I smirked; serves them right. Oogway was sure to discipline them for being late, though in all honesty, I wanted to see them punished for being so rude to him.

Oogway, however, had other plans. He simply knocked on their doors, gently rousing them from sleep. The rhino and kitten looked both tired and ashamed they had disappointed him. He waved it off,

"It is only your first day, I will not punish you. You must still be tired. Come, a little meditation will do you some good. If you need help with it, do not hesitate to ask for my help, and Small One's."

I beamed with pride. He was letting me teach them, as if I had mastered it already! I had no idea that this was a test; I didn't know until many years later that he had seen my future in a vision. My teaching these new students in something I barely understood myself was a test of not only an inborn talent, but also of patience.

Apparently, he already knew what names the four of us would carry as masters of kung fu. But, as always, he kept avoiding questions about our future no matter how much we asked.

We meditated for an hour, though most of it was spent teaching them the proper way to sit, the proper position for the hands. I helped Li, mostly. He was a natural, picking up the breathing technique immediately. I was amazed how smart he was.

Song struggled with it for a little while. She knew the proper positions, executing them flawlessly, for which I was a little jealous. How could a girl know more than me? You see, I still had a lot to learn about women. Needless to say, that wasn't the only black eye she would ever give me. She could be downright violent if she felt so inclined. As mean as she had been the day before, she nevertheless listened as I instructed her on the right breathing. In no time at all, she was off on her own, sitting next to Oogway in a perfect lotus position.

Ochir had the most trouble. But unlike Song—who, at first was opposed towards me—he seemed to downright _hate_ me. I didn't know why; I had never done anything to him. The metal in his personality clashed terribly with the wood in mine. This was all a part of the test.

I felt Oogway's eye on me, and I was not going to disappoint him. But Ochir was making it very difficult for me.

"You're supposed to breathe _in_ through your nose and _out_ through your mouth…" I said for the umpteenth time. I was quickly becoming impatient with him, but he wasn't being much better.

He snorted, "I _know_."

"Then why aren't you doing it?"

"Because I don't take orders from a little pipsqueak who doesn't even know how to fight!" he suddenly snapped. This brought Li and Song out of their meditation, and they watched us carefully.

I was shocked at the outburst, but I lost my temper and fired back, "I'm not giving you orders, I'm trying to help!"

"I didn't _ask_ for your help!"

"Master told me to help you, and so I am!"

"You always do what Master says?" he asked mockingly.

"Obeying your master is not a weakness!" I growled.

"You still don't know how to fight! You're weak!"

"I am _not_ weak!" I shot back, my temper flaring.

"You're small," he shot back. "And all small creatures are weak!"

I didn't care anymore. Despite my small stature, I pushed him, hard enough to send him onto his back. Song and Li gasped in shock; Ochir was just as surprised as I was. Before he could retaliate, Oogway's staff came between us.

"That is enough," he said sternly. "You two, come with me. Li and Song will go on ahead to breakfast. You two have one more lesson to learn this morning. Come."

Cowed by his disapproving look, the rhino and I wordlessly stood and followed him, matching his slow gait. I was ashamed at my conduct. How could I fail him like that?

He stopped at the well that supplied the Jade Palace with fresh water. He handed Ochir two buckets. "Ochir, for your punishment—"

"For _what_?!" the rhino interrupted. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

Oogway cleared his throat, instantly silencing him. He continued, "You are being punished for your disrespect to your fellow student. This is called the Valley of Peace for a reason. You are to take these buckets and fill them with water…"

The rhino nodded.

"From the well at the foot of the mountain…"

The rhino's face fell.

"And bring it up, empty it in this well," he tapped the bricks to his side, "and do this until sundown."

"How many trips do I take?" he asked dejectedly.

"As many as it takes to make you see the error of your ways." Oogway handed him the buckets in his outstretched hand and Ochir took them with a dour expression on his face.

I wasn't feeling much better. I'd had to do the Bucket Punishment before—it was no walk in the park, as they say. But I knew whatever punishment Oogway had in store for me had to be much worse. He knew that I knew better than to react in violence. Either I was going to get a lecture, a worse punishment, or both. I wasn't looking forward to either of it.

Ochir plodded to the gate to begin his duty; I cringed when I heard my master speak my name.

"Fu…"

I looked down at my feet.

"Fu, look at me."

I raised my eyes, knowing I was in big trouble.

"I am disappointed in you," he said, not frowning, but not smiling either.

"I know, Master. I dishonored you."

"Do you know why I am disappointed?"

"Because I reacted in anger and pushed Ochir?"

"No."

I looked into his face, confused. "Huh?"

Oogway beckoned to me to come forward. When I did, he directed my gaze to the ancient tree that stood outside the training hall. "Do you seek that oak?"

I nodded. I didn't see where he was going with this.

"Try punching it."

"Huh?"

"Punch it, hit it, kick it. Try to do harm to it."

Okay, now I was confused. But I did what he asked. I had no idea what I was doing; I didn't know how to actually punch anything. When he taught me forms, I did so as he instructed, I never thought of it as practice fighting. I tried to remember that lesson, then punched the trunk.

"OW!" I cried out; that hurt!

Biting my lip and nursing my aching knuckle, I felt Oogway rest his hand on my shoulder. "You see how difficult it is to try and take down such a large tree?"

"I bet I could if I was stronger," I grumbled. He'd heard me.

"You are still a novice. Your strength will come."

"But Ochir's right!" I exclaimed. "I'm small and weak, he's big and strong! How can you turn _me_ into a kung fu warrior? I'm too small!"

"Stop," he ordered. I shut my mouth, wondering what I'd done wrong. He leaned down and picked something off the ground, placing it in my hand. I narrowed my eyes.

"Do you know what that is?" he asked.

"An acorn?" I answered.

"Mm-hmm," he nodded. "When you plant an acorn, what does it become?"

I glanced at the tree. "An…oak tree?"

He nodded again. "Remarkable, isn't it, how something so small can grow into something so strong."

I didn't get his meaning at first until he closed my hand over the acorn. "We all start out small, Small One," he explained. "We all start out small as seeds. Some of us become rice, vegetables and fruit, which nurture and sustain. Some become thorns and brambles, which harm and hurt. Others grow into mighty trees. The effect is the same. If a seed is nurtured and sustained, it can become strong. Improbable things come in small packages."

"But Master," I said. "I'm a _red panda_, not an acorn. I'm not going to grow into a tree!"

"Are you not?" he asked, a smile returning to his face.

"No, I'm not," I said. "I'm not like Li, or Song, or Ochir. I'm not big and strong, I don't have sharp teeth, or claws…"

"I don't think you understand," he said. "Yes, you are small, and yes, you may not grow to be taller than your own father…but good things come in small packages."

"Like what?" I asked, now genuinely lost.

"Well, a newborn child is a good thing, and it is small. The seed of a flowering plant will bring beauty and peace to someone…" I suppose he could tell from my expression that these things weren't giving me much comfort. He chuckled, "Yes, you are small…small like a stick of dynamite."

I grinned and giggled. Alright, I'll go with that. That sounded much better than being a flower or a baby.

"Okay…I think I get it now," I said. "Small things can become big things…"

"Or have big results." He patted my head and smiled at me. "I chose you as my student because I saw you had potential. What you lack in physical strength and intensity, you make up for in speed and intelligence.

"Song is like water, she can adapt quickly, mold into whatever vessel she finds herself in. She has the duality of being nurturing like rain, or a cold drink on a hot day, but she can also be like a raging sea or a monsoon. Ochir is like metal; he can be something positive, like gold or money, and negative, like a sword or ax. You and Li, however, are like wood…"

"We're firmly rooted to the earth?"

"Yes, but also, you are observers. Though you may not travel as far as metal or water, you watch the world pass by, and you learn from observation. You see? You are stronger than you think. No matter how hard the wind blows, that tree with never bow down to it."

"But don't some trees get knocked down in high wind?"

"Only if their roots fail them."

"I won't fail you, Master. I'll never fail you!" I said desperately, thinking this was what he meant.

"I am not concerned with that. What concerns me is _you_ failing _yourself_."

I was six by that time, so this lesson was nearly lost on me. I wanted to meditate on it, but I felt his stare once again. "I still have a punishment?"

"Yes. You do."

I slipped the acorn into a pocket and bowed to him, "I will accept whatever punishment you see fit, Master."

"Ten laps around the mountain," he said after a pause. "Then run up and down the steps to the palace. Ten times up, ten times down. You will come see me when you are finished for the rest of your punishment. Use the time wisely to think about your actions."

Laps? Ten laps around the base of the mountain, and twenty laps up the thousand steps?! That would take all day! I sighed and bowed again, "As you wish, Master."

* * *

I didn't finish my punishment until well after dusk. My feet ached, my legs throbbed, my lungs and chest hurt. I trotted the rest of the steps, forcing myself to keep from collapsing when I reached the top. Ochir was waiting at the gate, panting with exertion. The two buckets sat on the ground by his feet, and he was leaning with his forehead against the closed gates.

Though my legs felt like buckling out beneath me, I stood next to him. "It's after sundown," I said. "Your punishment was done a long time ago…"

"They won't let me in, the door's locked."

I felt sick to my stomach; that's right, they closed and locked the gates at sundown, every day, without fail.

"Darn it."

"Is there another way in?" he asked. "I can't fail this mission, but I don't know what to do…"

I had never heard anyone look or sound so defeated. He looked tired, worn out, and worried. "Master won't be mad," I said.

"But if I fail him, he'll kick me out!"

"Who told you that?"

"Dad."

I looked at him, confused. "Why would he tell you that?"

"He said a warrior needs to be disciplined and obey his master…"

"Master Oogway wouldn't kick you out for something as stupid as not putting two buckets of water into a well!" I said. Then I got an idea.

"Hey, if I can get over the wall, I can unlock the door and let you in."

He glared at me, "You'll just leave me here!"

"I wouldn't do that!"

"You can't get over that wall, you're too small."

He had a point, I couldn't just jump up—my legs were too short, and I don't think I could have mustered the strength in them to do that anyway. Looking around, I spotted a young tree by the wall. I grinned, "Over there!"

I trotted over and pointed at the top of the tree. "Bend it down, I'll get on top, and you can catapult me over!"

He looked unsure. "You sure? Doesn't sound very safe."

It wasn't. It wasn't very smart either, but since when did children ever think things through? "I'll be fine. I'll land on my feet!"

"I thought only cats could do that…"

"You want in or not?" I asked impatiently, crossing my arms. Sighing, he grabbed the tree trunk and bent it down. I jumped up and nodded. When he let go, I went flying, right over the wall and down towards the arena floor.

And I hit the ground. Hard. Pain shot up my arm, and tears stung my eyes. It hurt more than anything I had ever felt. But I wasn't going to start crying; I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

I picked myself up, took deep breaths to ignore the pain and trotted over to the door. I tried lifting up the heavy beam and discovered a flaw in my plan. I was too small to lift it.

"What're you doing?"

I turned and saw Song staring at me. I looked back at the beam and tried lifting it by shoving my shoulder under it and pushing up. "Ochir's still outside, and I'm letting him in…"

"You let him throw you over the wall to open a _door_?" she looked shocked. "Are you _crazy_?"

"I dunno. Maybe." I tried again.

"Do you need help?"

"I got it," I lied.

Sighing, she stepped over and mirrored me, and together, we lifted the beam. Song pulled open the door and Ochir stepped inside. He looked down at the both of us, especially me. I expected him to make a crack at my size and lack of strength, but he just nodded once.

"Thanks." With that, he set off to complete his assignment. I got up and felt my legs shaking. Song saw my whole body shuddering. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Another lie. I wasn't weak, I told myself. I'm not going to show her how weak I was feeling. Typical male bravado, I'm afraid; I learned it too young.

She huffed and took my hand. "Come on, its dinnertime, and we've been waiting for you two."

"Master said I still have punishment to…"

"Punishment? For what?" she asked. "If you hadn't pushed Ochir, _I_ would have. Just because we're small doesn't mean anything. He's big and dumb, but that means we're small and smart."

Oogway's words from earlier suddenly made sense. Ochir impulsively leapt without looking; I held back, watched how things were done, then I made my move. Song seemed to understand this.

"Come on, lets go get dinner," she said. I followed her wordlessly. However, I didn't end up eating until much later. Oogway noted that my arm was _not_ supposed to bend that way, and instantly sent me to the infirmary. Ochir, surprisingly, brought my dinner to me in my room. Though we didn't say anything, something had changed between us. Looking back, I now know why Oogway fixed those particular punishments for us: we were meant to meet at those locked gates, and we were meant to work together to make it home.

Years later, we would have to depend on each other in much the same way. Only, at that point in time, it was to make sure we made it home alive.

* * *

Note: Yes, I'm perfectly aware that the Chinese did not have dynamite. I know that dynamite was created by Alfred Nobel in 1866. The Chinese had gunpowder certainly, but I think my meaning should be understood.


	3. Chapter 3

**Memoirs of a Master**

**Chapter 3**

Disclaimer: Don't own it. Its property of Dreamworks, and this isn't done for profit. Its not like I'm publishing this…

Just an FYI: I did some research (gasp!) into some names…Ochir is a Mongolian name meaning "thunderbolt" (So nievelion, you weren't too far off when you suggested he be "fast as lightning" ;) and Terbish is one of those odd names that parents used to give their children that means "not that one". I specifically chose that name for Terbish because apparently choosing unusual names for children used to be common in the old days to ward off evil spirits; ergo, this shows how old-fashioned Terbish truly is. I picked "Li" for a name because its apparently very common. I chose "Song" because I liked the sound of it. So there. :P

BTW, if I wasn't clear enough in what breed of cat Song is, she and her mother are "Tonkinese" cats, which have similar markings to a Siamese cat, without the drama-queen attitude. I debated making Song a Himalayan, but I thought Shifu's tail was enough fluffiness for one fic. ;) Here's a link for pictures: **www,cfainc,org - breeds - profiles - tonkinese,html** Just replace the commas with periods and the hyphens with slashes.

* * *

Po and the Five took a break for lunch and returned to the same room with steaming cups of hot milk tea. Viper threw some cinnamon into the pot and everyone sat around the brazier to keep warm. Crane stoked the coals, adding more wood into the nearby fireplace. The room warmed up considerably, and everyone was at ease, wrapped in blankets, and talking about the second scroll.

"Wow!" Po exclaimed. "He got to meet Masters Terbish, Jian Qiang _and _Miao Li?! That's so awesome! I mean, Terbish took on more than seven score warriors at the same time in one battle and came out with only _one_ scratch! And the Mighty Jian Qiang the Mongol Hunter, wow! And Miao Li, the only female to have defeated an entire army on her own by just using her smarts and wicked fighting techniques!"

"Yes, Po, we know who they are..." Crane said patiently.

Tigress shook her head, "It's incredible…but why did they not teach their children themselves?"

"Maybe they felt Oogway could do something that they couldn't," Crane said.

Viper took up the next scroll, rolling it open bit by bit. She looked up at her audience and smiled, "It sounds like he had a really happy childhood."

"It kinda makes me wonder though," Mantis said. "We knew him as a harsh taskmaster, but now that we know this stuff…I don't think Tai Lung was the only reason he became the way he was the past twenty years."

Crane shook his head. "Yeah, I don't buy that either. Something must've happened."

"You guys know him better than I do," Po said. "But if I had to guess, maybe something went south with one of the other students?"

"Maybe that's it," Mantis said. "Maybe this person Shifu went to see is one of his old friends."

"But he's never mentioned any of them before…"

"Why would he?" Tigress asked. "He only ever confided in Master Oogway…and now, Po."

"Uh-uh, he never told me any of this. I mean, yeah, little things here and there, like a couple details about his mom and dad, what they were like and stuff. But I didn't know about any of this."

"We probably haven't heard of them since they all got new names when they became masters," Monkey reasoned.

"We won't know until we find out," Viper said. She began narrating the next scroll…

* * *

The spring I turned seven, Master Oogway decided the time had come to teach us to fight. He had set up the Training Hall with an obstacle course, but we wouldn't train on it for a few more months. Instead, he stepped up our kung fu forms practices, lessening our lessons in meditation and tai chi.

Ochir was glad for that, naturally. He was still remarkably stubborn, and eager to fight, something he never outgrew. Rash? Yes. But it was impressive nonetheless.

Li and I were still a bit nervous about the prospect of learning to fight. Ochir and Song had kung fu masters for parents, and must have known quite a lot already. I knew Ochir did at least. Song was quiet, except when incensed, which, fortunately, was not very often. It took very little to annoy her, and she got frustrated when she couldn't get something right the first couple of times. But rarely did we ever see her angry. She was one of those people that you just _knew_ you shouldn't anger.

Then again, Oogway was one of those people too.

You find it so surprising, that Grand Master Oogway could get angry? You wouldn't have believed it unless you saw it. I had only seen him angry—truly angry—just once in the sixty-five years I knew him. And it frightened me; it still does. Angering someone like Oogway takes something appallingly terrible.

But the only terrible thing we young students thought were his riddles. I had gotten used to them, and competed with Song in solving them. Yes, I was jealous that a girl knew as much about solving riddles as I did. I admit now that she was much smarter than us three boys combined. My views on women were shaped by my years fighting beside one; to date, I have not met a braver warrior than she.

"Today, we officially begin your training," Oogway announced. We stood in front of the Training Hall, eagerly awaiting whatever would come. Master smiled down at us, beaming with pride. "You have all learned much in the past year, and developed into budding warriors. Now, we begin your training in fighting…"

He pushed open the double-doors and led us in. We stared in awe at the space. In the middle of the packed-earth floor, wooden posts were hammered into the ground, and a forest of swinging clubs in the middle, on the other side of what we learned was the Jade Tortoise. At the far end, we were surprised to find a giant trampoline. The others were confused, but I had faith that my master knew what he was doing.

He led us off to the side and we stood shoulder to shoulder while he rummaged in a closet. Then he pulled it out.

"This," he said, patting the dummy on the head, "Is the Adversary. I've used it for training novices for many years…"

The doll didn't look that intimidating; it was just a sand-filled teetering dummy with a stupid smile painted on what was supposed to be his face.

"Who wants to have a go first?" Oogway offered.

"Oh! Oh!" Ochir raised his hand eagerly. Oogway chuckled and stood aside, "Be my guest…"

Ochir stood in front of the Adversary and delivered a quick punch. The doll flew backwards several yards, hitting the opposite wall.

"Very good," Oogway said encouragingly. "Your father Terbish taught you well. Next time, though," he pressed his hand on the rhino's wrist, lowering it slightly. "Hit lower on the body, at his center of gravity."

"Yes Master," he replied, proud of himself.

"Good. Retrieve the Adversary, would you? Who is next?"

"May I, Master?" Song asked politely. He nodded and she stepped forward when Ochir put the dummy back in place. Song stared at the doll for a moment, then leapt back into a fighting stance we'd learned, jumping forward, lunging down, then jumped up, kicking her leg out sharply. The Adversary flew backwards a couple yards. Song smiled at her effort. So did Oogway.

"I see your mother Miao Li taught you some of her style. Very good. There is much strength behind your kick, but you would get more height if when you turned, you landed flat-footed, _then_ pushed up."

Song thought this over, then performed the same action, utilizing his advice. It worked; she grinned. "Thank you, Master!"

He nodded and looked to Li and I as she retrieved the dummy. "Who's next?"

Li and I shared a look, one that said "you first". As much as I wanted to impress my master, Li still had problems with confidence. The dummy didn't look that hard to defeat, but he still looked scared. Oogway beckoned him forward; I pushed gently on his shoulders.

"Go ahead," I said. "You can do it."

He smiled and slowly stepped forth, looking utterly terrified.

"Go on, Li," Oogway said.

Li froze, but Oogway's hand on his back urged him forward. He stood right in front of the dummy, a bit of performance anxiety sneaking in. I could see it in his face: how could he make an impression when Ochir and Song had already proven their worth as students? Did he have the strength to propel this thing backwards like the others?

Oogway spoke, startling the kit, "Not all of us share the same strengths. Song is a cat, and quite nimble. Ochir is a rhino and quite strong. Play to your own strengths, Li."

The kit thought about it, then had the revelation he was looking for. He crouched down into a defensive stance, studying his opponent. His wood personality shown through; he was observing his opponent. In an instant, with a speed that shocked us all, he struck, hitting the Adversary in three places: first the head, then the base, and finally the middle. The dummy hit the wall so hard it bounced forward two feet.

Oogway's smile was as wide as I had ever seen it. "Excellent! A wonderful job!"

"Way to go, Li!" Song congratulated.

I playfully punched his arm as he got back in line, "I knew you could do it!"

"Small One, you're next."

Darn it.

Three great performances, and I had to top Li's. Perfect, just perfect. I tried to think of a point of contact on the Adversary, as well as some moves we learned in forms lessons that would be sure to impress my master. However, you know what they say about the best-laid plans…

I struck, and the Adversary teetered back, then forward, hitting me head-on. I fell back onto my rump, biting my tongue in the process. Ochir and Song started laughing behind me. Well, that could have gone better.

Oogway shook his head. "Remember, play to your strengths, Small One."

My strengths. Right. Rhinos were strong, cats were nimble, foxes were sly…what were red pandas? Let's see…we could climb things. But how would climbing something serve me any good? What else…we were small, and could fit into small places? No, that couldn't be it…

I felt their eyes on my back, and I got nervous. I tried again, reaping the same results. As I lay on my back, winded, and staring at the open ceiling, I couldn't figure out what my strengths were.

"Small One," Oogway carefully instructed. "Recall the acorn…"

I wanted to say 'But an acorn can't fight' but I was still winded from landing hard on my back. Find your strength…find your strength…

Small like a firecracker.

_That's it!_

Smiling, I got back up and gave it another try. I would not fail this time. I waited, anticipating what the Adversary would do if he were a real opponent. Then I struck my foot out at his base, kicking him up into the air; I jumped up and kicked hard. The Adversary bounced back off the wall, moving back towards me five feet!

The others stood in shock—they hadn't expected that. Truth be told, neither had I. The stunned silence was broken when Ochir said, "Whoa. Go Fu."

I grinned, looking over my shoulder. Oogway was smiling proudly.

"Good work." Though it wasn't as exuberant a congratulation as for the others, I hadn't felt better.

I'd remembered the acorn alright. Trees are only as strong as their roots—uproot the tree, it's easier to fall.

* * *

We took turns with the Adversary throughout the rest of the day, and quickly found it to be fun, not drudgery like our other training. Master Oogway stood back and allowed us to start our own competition, seeing how hard we could beat up the inanimate object. This was more than just a training exercise, and something I tried doing later when I had students of my own: allow them to compete together, and they eventually work together.

Since helping him finish his punishment a year ago, Ochir had become, if not friendly, at least civil towards me. Song had slowly developed a friendship with me, though nothing nearly as close as what I had with Li. He and I were inseparable, and wherever one of us was, the other would not be far away.

"Lookit, lookit, Fu!" he called, delivering a punch to the dummy. "See! I did it!"

"Nice one!" I grinned.

Ochir stepped forward, tapping Li on the shoulder, "That's good, but you need to try hitting a little higher…remember, I'm taller than you, so I need to hit lower…" he looked over his shoulder at Oogway, "…right, Master?"

Our master smiled and nodded, "An astute observation, young one."

"What's 'astute' mean?"

"It means 'wise' or 'smart'," he explained. "I'm interested to see what else your father taught you…" He was interrupted when a goose trotted into the Training Hall, looked harried and frantic. I knew him well. His name was Zhou; he was the grandfather of Zeng, whom I'll get to later. Zhou always carried himself with as much dignity as he could, but his job was a difficult and oftentimes stressful one. He was the messenger of the Jade Palace (an occupation his son and grandson inherited), and made frequent trips to the village below. The goose was surprisingly patient with us children, and answered all our questions about the outside world, because we had yet to see it. More often than not, the biggest source of stress was keeping up with Master Oogway; no pun intended, but searching for the tortoise proved at times to be a wild goose chase.

"Master Oogway, there you are!"

"Ah, Zhou…what brings you here?"

The goose bowed respectfully, "I'm terribly sorry to interrupt your lesson, but I have urgent news—you have a visitor."

"Indeed?"

"Yes, Master Miao Li requests an audience with you."

Oogway looked concerned, the smile falling from his face. "I see…so it _is_ as I feared…where is she?"

"She is waiting for you in the Sacred Hall of Warriors, sir," Zhou said. "I told her you might be busy…"

Oogway took up his staff and started walking to the door. "Nonsense, I must go. Do me a favor, would you, Zhou?"

"Anything, sir," he nodded.

Oogway smiled over at us, "Make sure my students are fed some lunch…then why don't you take them into the village? They have performed well today, and deserve a reward."

We stopped immediately, our faces glowing with excitement. We were finally going to see the village!

Zhou looked unsure for a moment, and we secretly feared he'd say no; but if there was one weakness the goose had, it was children. He sighed, but a smile tugged at his beak. "Of course, Master. I have a few errands to run anyway."

"Good, good…" he said absently. "Students, enjoy yourselves, but remember that you represent the Jade Palace…"

"Yes Master!" we chorused, bowing in respect. Oogway smiled at us and made for the door, climbing down the steps and was gone.

Zhou took the opportunity and ushered us to the door after Ochir put the Adversary back in its place. "Come on, then, let's get some lunch in you. The sooner we get you fed, the sooner we can leave…"

We all eagerly made for the door, but something told me to turn around and look back. Song didn't seem as enthusiastic as I expected. In fact, she looked depressed…

"You okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay." She really wasn't. If her mother had come to visit, it wasn't to see her daughter. I found that very strange. If her mother lived so far away, and made such a long and perilous journey…why would she not come to see her daughter first? Something was wrong here.

"Zhou, I need to use the lavatory…" I lied quickly.

"Sure, make it quick."

I held back and took Song's hand. "Come on, let's go find out what's going on…"

"We'll get into trouble…and weren't you going to…"

"Um, I lied."

She gave me a look. "Some honorable warrior…"

I blushed, "You wanna know why your Mom isn't here to see you or what?"

"No, I _know_ why she's here," she snapped. "I just don't want you in my business."

"But why not? We're friends, aren't we?"

"No, you and Li are friends. I'm not going to be here long enough to make friends."

I stared at her. "What're you talking about?"

She sighed. "My mother's here to take me home…"

"WHAT?" I was shocked. What was the point of bringing Song here in the first place if she wasn't going to stay? When I asked her, Song looked back at me, tears in her eyes.

"Father wants me to marry some boy from a family who is higher than ours. I've already waited too long. My future in-laws won't take me unless my feet are bound…"

I had no idea what this was about. I didn't know what foot-binding was, or what it did to women's feet. Song then explained: she told me it crippled them. She told me about the process of it, how a girl's feet—some as young as three—would have the four smaller toes curled under, leaving the big toe unharmed. The girls' feet would be wrapped in bandages and forced to walk until their toes broke, then their feet would be broken, and formed into "golden lilies"…until the foot barely measured 4 inches long, or smaller. Imagine taking your own foot and shrinking it until it was the length of your thumb, and you'll see why I was so appalled.

Once I knew what it was, and what it all entailed, it sickened me. It sounded like the worst of tortures. I wondered why women had to do it—if it was a so-called sign of beauty, why didn't men do it, too?

Song's mother had been spared of that torture by Master Oogway. I held out hope that maybe he would do the same for her…

When I told her my hope, she shook her head, "My father has much influence…"

"So does Master Oogway!" I said. "He wouldn't let that happen to you…"

"Fu, I've been bred since infancy to marry well, and be a good wife…Father was furious when Mother brought be here. He said kung fu was not for women…"

This confused me. "But…he _married_ a kung fu master…"

"I know. But he doesn't want me to follow the same path…"

"But to put you through…_that_?" I was referring to the foot-binding of course, but the idea of it so sickened me I couldn't bring myself to call it by its name.

"Only upper class families do it," she explained. "It's a sign of status, that they have enough money to take care of their women."

"But it's not taking care of them if it _hurts_ them…" I reasoned.

"I knew you wouldn't get it," she accused. "That's just the way it is!"

"But it's not fair!"

"_Life_ isn't fair!" she snapped. "Mother's here to take me away…"

"You don't know that."

"What _else_ could she be here for?"

I took her hand and yanked her along. "We're going to find out!"

* * *

I should have felt guilt for eavesdropping on my master's private meeting, but I was more concerned about losing one of my friends than being punished. If I had to do the Bucket punishment, or run laps again, I didn't care. When we reached the Sacred Hall of Warriors, we pressed our ears to the door; seeing it cracked open, we slipped inside, hiding behind a pillar. Masters Oogway and Miao Li had their backs to us, and they were speaking, Miao Li sounding frantic.

"Master, he's demanding she return…"

"I cannot allow that," he said sternly, in a tone I'd never heard before; it bothered me a great deal.

"You might be able to fight him, but I can't!" she said, sounding desperate. "He knows how I feel about putting Song through that, but he…"

"Are you not a kung fu master?!" he said sharply, turning to her; his tone was hard enough that it made me flinch. He had never raised his voice to anyone before, at least in my presence. Miao Li cowed immediately, looking ashamed. He continued,

"Did I not train you? Did I not save you from a similar fate? Did I not make it impossible for your family to condemn you to a life of servitude and isolation in a single room, with your feet aching and crippled, doing nothing but cooking, cleaning, and embroidery for the rest of your life?"

"She is engaged to be married," she said quietly. "She has been engaged to the son of her father's friend since infancy. I cannot break the engagement."

"You cannot; I can," he said, turning away from her and gazing into the Moon Pool.

"That would ruin us…"

"Li, you have had the same choice you had the day of your wedding—why you insisted on staying when you had every right to leave is beyond my understanding."

"Well like it or not, Oogway, I love my husband, despite his faults!" she snapped back.

"He does not love you the way you love him. If he loved you, he would respect your wishes, and not selfishly ignore you and continue with his agenda. Song never asked for this to happen…"

"And you think I did?! I don't have a choice…"

"No, you _always_ had a choice," he said, frowning. He pointed at the cat. "You had a choice up until you left her in my care. Just as I did when your parents left you on my doorstep, claiming you were a worthless daughter, I have taken full responsibility and full rights over your daughter. You relinquished your right to her the day you left her here."

Song bit her lip to keep from gasping. I looked over at her and grasped her hand; she gripped back, her knuckles white.

Miao Li didn't say anything.

I learned an important lesson that I kept to this day. Any student that came to train at the Palace was effectively adopted. This proved true the day I found Tai Lung; and it was just as true as when the Furious Five, especially Master Tigress, came here. Any student of Master Oogway, and eventually, any student of mine, was legally our child.

That shocked me; did that mean I no longer had any ties to my own family back in the village, so far away? But I saw what Oogway was doing, and what he intended when he made that policy: he was protecting his students from something just like this.

That day, I knew his greatest weakness—and the thing that made him truly angry—was the mistreatment of a child, _any_ child.

"So what will I tell my husband?" Miao Li asked.

"Tell him I refused to let her go. Matter of fact, you can tell him I told him _where_ to go…"

"Master!"

"And if he has any problem with it," he continued, "He is free to fight me for her."

This effectively ended the discussion. Miao Li—and Song's father—had lost. Song's grip on my hand slackened, her face looked pale. I knew that was as good a time as any to leave. We waited until the backs of both adults were turned before making a hasty exit.

When we were far enough away, I turned to Song with a smile. "See? Everything's okay!"

"I don't know…" she said. "If I'm now Oogway's daughter…does that mean I don't see my family ever again?"

I snorted, "If it means not seeing your Dad again, I don't think it's much of a loss."

"That's not true!" she spat, though she appeared to be doubting her own words. "You take that back! My father _loves_ me!"

"He wanted to cripple you!" I snapped. "Face it; you were nothing more than something to trade!"

She backhanded me. Instead of a normal slap, being backhanded was an insult; it made you _beneath_ the assaulter. There were tears flooding her bright blue eyes, which had turned glassy with moisture. "He loves me…" she said, trying to convince not just me, but both of us.

But her mind was filled with doubt now. She drew back and turned away. "I need to talk to my mother…"

I sighed but nodded, "Okay…we'll save some food for you."

"I'm not hungry." With that, she tore off for the Hall of Warriors, leaving me to walk to the bunkhouse for lunch. Zhou scolded me for being so late and asked where Song was. I told him she was visiting with her mother, but should be there soon.

A while later, the sow who took care of us told Zhou to go down into the village without Song: "She's suddenly not feeling well. She'll be fine later, but she's in no shape to make the trip."

Li and Ochir asked me what had happened; I suddenly felt too sick to my stomach to answer. "Later," I said, though I knew I couldn't bring myself to tell them anyway. That was something Song had to do; it was none of my business to tell her story. Besides, I couldn't betray Song's trust like that. So, with my heart feeling like it had fallen to the ground, we set out for the village.

* * *

"We'll bring something back for her," Ochir said.

"Something nice," Li nodded. "What would she like, though? Something to eat?"

"She might have an upset stomach," I said, knowing it was an outright lie.

We walked in silence until we made it to the bottom of the steps and had our first real look at the Valley of Peace.

It was Market Day, apparently, and stalls were open, selling myriad wares, foods, spices and herbs. Vendors hawked their merchandise, the sights and smells overpowering our senses. Zhou had given us five _yuan_ each for our enjoyment, but told us to use them wisely as "You won't be getting a real allowance for another couple years."

But, we were young, so restraint was not our forte. Li, however, was the voice of reason for us: "Remember, we need to get something for Song…"

"We don't even know what she likes," Ochir said.

"Kinda pathetic, since we've trained with her for so long," Li said with a deadpan expression.

"Fine, smarty pants, but I don't hear you coming up with any ideas…"

I groaned, "Let's just walk around, maybe we'll find something…"

"What're you boys looking for?" Zhou asked.

The three of us looked at each other; they silently appointed me their spokesperson. "Zhou, what do girls like?"

He smiled—or more like smirked, "Getting something to cheer her up, eh? Yes, I know where you were. I bet it wasn't a happy reunion."

"That's our guess," Ochir admitted. "So what do girls like?"

"Well…" the goose thought for a moment. "The easiest answers are flowers, sweets, jewelry…"

None of those would work. Song had allergies to flowers, she didn't eat sweets very often, and she didn't like jewelry since it got in the way of her training. "Anything else?"

"Well, every girl is different. Song's not like most girls, so you need to think about what makes her happy."

"She likes kicking things," I said.

"And beating up Fu when he says something stupid," Ochir offered. I scowled at him.

"Well, that's a start, I suppose…" the goose looked uncertain.

"She likes going to the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom," Li said, then he trailed off. His eyes were trained at one booth; he pointed. "Hey, lookit that!"

"Lookit what?"

"That!" he trotted over to the booth, pointing out his idea to us. We looked up, and smiled. It was a wall scroll of a beautiful landscape, the painting's most prominent feature a peach tree, half in bloom, half bearing bright peaches, large and full. The artist had such skill, we could practically smell the peach blossoms, and taste the peach juice on our tongues. It was perfect!

The vendor, a pig, smiled at us, then greeted Zhou, "Hey, long time no see! How're you?"

"Fine, fine, just running a few errands and getting these boys a change of scenery…"

The pig nodded, "Ah, Master Oogway's students, eh? Strange, I thought there were four…"

"There are," Zhou explained, "but she's not feeling well…"

I interrupted Zhou, asking quickly, "How much is that scroll with the peach tree?"

The pig looked over his shoulder. "This one?"

"Yessir."

"Twenty _yuan_."

Our faces fell. We only had fifteen between us. We couldn't afford it.

But Zhou hated to see children disappointed just as much as Oogway did. "Twenty? Too much. Besides, the edges are frayed. Ten."

"No way—this was painted by a true master, I'm not going below eighteen."

"Twelve."

"Seventeen."

"Thirteen."

"Absolutely not: sixteen's as low as I'll go."

Li piped up, "This is for our friend, mister. We care about her very much."

"Yeah," Ochir said, fists digging into his hips. "Thirteen, our final offer."

"No way," I said stubbornly, "Twelve. Look at the red seal above the artist's signature—you call that art? It's all sloppy! You can barely see what the seal says! Some 'master' if he can't even sign his name!"

I had no clue what I was talking about, of course. I was an uncultivated, uncultured farmer's son of seven years of age. But I'd seen enough paintings in the Hall of Warriors to know a _good_ painting from a _great_ painting.

The pig thought this over, but he must have seen the determined looks on our faces.

"Okay, twelve."

"Done," Zhou said, accepting our money to pay him. He handed back a single _yuan_ to each of us. The pig sighed, rolling up the scroll and packing it in a blue silk bag. He handed it to Zhou, who gave it to Li. The kit held onto it like a sacred object, a proud smile on his face.

Zhou looked proud too as we continued on our way, "I'm really proud of you boys."

"Thanks, Zhou," we piped.

"We're coming up on some food vendors. Go get yourselves some treats; you deserve it."

* * *

We ended up eating dinner in a noodle shop owned by a kindly goose—I found out many years later he was the grandfather of the future Dragon Warrior, but he sadly wouldn't live to see that day—and didn't arrive home to the Jade Palace until much later. We'd enjoyed ourselves immensely, though we were quite tired. But we still had something very important to do.

Li held on to the scroll in its blue silk bag, while Ochir carried some candied plums—Song's favorite—that we had bought with the last _yuan_ we'd been given. Zhou left us in the care of the sow, Mrs. Chen, who ushered us into the bunkhouse. "You'll all need baths tomorrow, but it's too late now," she said.

After we'd changed into our nightclothes, we sneaked over to Song's room and opened the door. She was still awake, and we could tell she'd been crying. I sighed, "Is your Mom still here?"

She shook her head, "She left without saying good-bye."

We looked at her sympathetically, but she wasn't interested in pity. She wiped her eyes and sniffed. "Did you guys have fun?"

"We woulda had more fun if you were there," Ochir said.

Li held out the silk bag to her. "We brought you something, to make you feel better."

"Candied plums too," the rhino said, handing her the bag. She stared at us in amazement.

"You guys didn't have to…"

"We wanted to," I said. "Aren't you gonna open your gift?"

She looked at the silk bag in her hand and took the scroll out. Untying the ribbon that held it closed, she unrolled it on the floor…and froze in amazement. To my alarm, her eyes filled with tears again, and she sat back so tears wouldn't stain and ruin the painting.

We three boys panicked, "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, "Nothing…" she looked up, and she was smiling. "Thanks, you guys…you're the best."

We hugged her while she cried again. Mrs. Chen came in a moment later, smiled at us and wordlessly hung the painting on the wall, so that Song would wake up and see it every morning. We shared the candied plums, and Mrs. Chen let us stay up a little later than usual.

Song leaned her head on my shoulder. "Fu?"

"Yeah?" I asked, my mouth full of sweet plum.

"Thanks for being such a good friend."

I smiled, wrapping an arm around her. "Any time."

* * *

Over the next few days, Song opened up to me a little more. Her father—much like my family—was a very traditional man, an imperial scholar of the fourth rank, who was progressive enough to teach his only daughter to read and write, but old-fashioned enough to teach her what he _thought_ a woman should be. He'd been disappointed when he married Miao Li, only because she was "an ugly, big-footed girl". I thought he was crazy; Miao Li was beautiful. So what if she didn't have those so-called "golden lilies"? The fact she didn't allow herself to be made into a cripple made me like her more.

Song told me the lessons she had to learn: embroidery, sewing, poetry, playing instruments…all these things she was terrible at. She was much better at punching her older brothers when they made fun of her. Every time she did, her father sternly reminded her of the Three Obediences: "When a girl, obey your father; when a wife, obey your husband; when a widow, obey your son."

Obey, obey, obey…while obeying Master Oogway made sense to me, was that _all _a girl was expected to do? Song told me about the Four Virtues, which I knew already, and had believed perfectly acceptable for a woman: "Be chaste and yielding, calm and upright in attitude; be quiet and agreeable in words; be restrained and exquisite in movement; be perfect in handiwork and embroidery".

And Confucius was supposed to be wise.

Like I said, I had much to learn about women. The day that Song's parents (namely her father) effectively disowned her, I learned more about women than I think any man ever had. Or at least a boy my age.

One day I asked Master Oogway about what I'd learned. Most of all, I asked him why women were supposedly the "weaker sex"; I thought this was a load of nonsense, since Song easily had the hardest punch I'd ever felt.

He was meditating, but sighed and turned to look at me, "I thought that was you eavesdropping with her."

"I'm sorry, Master…" I said, my ears pressed against my skull.

"I understand. You were worried for her, and with good reason."

"She's not really leaving, is she?"

"No, when I said I would not allow it, I meant it. Her father would have to come and drag her away himself, and I know he would not do such a thing…"

"Because you'd kick his butt?"

"No," he chuckled, "Because you three boys would."

I smiled cheekily. He was right, we would. Then I frowned, "So did they abandon her here?"

"Song's mother did not 'abandon' her so much as leave her in my care. Song will return to her family eventually. What her father does not understand is that there are many ways for a daughter to bring honor to her family…ways that don't involve suffering for 'beauty'."

"Why do girls do that? Why do they let people hurt them like that…"

"Because for many, they have no choice in the matter," he explained. "In a perfect world, women would be autonomous—that means they would be their own master. They would own property, run their own businesses, live in homes by themselves, have rightful ownership of their children, and have all the freedoms men enjoy. But sadly, Small One, this is not a perfect world."

"Why do men think girls are weak?"

"That I cannot tell you—I do not pretend to understand why society is the way it is; I cannot tell you why men believe the things they do. What I _can_ tell you is that while women may not have the natural upper body strength that men do…they make up for it in other ways."

"Like what, Master?"

"Well, they're smarter, for one," he chuckled. "Think of it: what do you think I've been emphasizing for you?"

I thought for a moment, "To…to use my brain?"

"Exactly. You may be small—and others may perceive you as 'weak'—but the strongest warrior in any battle is the one who uses his—or her—brain, not brawn."

I didn't think that was fair to Ochir though; he was plenty smart, even if he did have a lot of brawn for one so young. In later years he would develop a more philosophical approach to life, become calmer, more contemplative…but that was not to happen for many years.

"What'll happen to Song now?" I asked.

"She will continue to train here, if that is her heart's desire."

"She doesn't want her feet bound."

"Who would? You'll break enough bones during training, but I can think of no worse undeserved punishment than what thousands of women go through each day…"

I nodded, "My mother's feet weren't bound."

"She is one of the lucky ones. And your father loves her very much."

"Aren't mothers and fathers _supposed_ to love each other?"

"In a perfect world, we would _all _marry for love—most marriages are arranged, and the couple generally do not meet until their wedding day."

"That's dumb."

"Yes, yes it is."

"I think you should rule China," I said, not realizing this was treasonous against the emperor. It was a good thing Oogway an accepting person, and didn't rebuke me. He just chuckled,

"Oh Small One, you couldn't _pay _me to take that job! I would rather live my life as a peasant than a prince. I would rather be free, surrounded by Earth's bounteous beauty, than stuck behind many walls, sitting in a dark room counting gold all day. At night, I close my eyes and sleep soundly; a prince lays awake, fearful of the thief in the night, or for someone else to do him harm."

He was right—he was always right. For the first time I appreciated being a poor farmer's son. Oddly, it meant I had many more freedoms than a rich child. I never thought I'd feel sorry for them, but lo and behold, I did.

"So…Song's staying?"

"She is staying. Did she enjoy your gift?"

I nodded. "She really likes it."

"Good, that makes my heart glad."

I smiled. "Mine too, Master." I paused. "Am I in trouble for eavesdropping?"

"Not this time."

It sounded ominous, so I decided to remain silent. I bowed in respect, wondering if he would dismiss me. He patted the ground next to him, a silent request to join him. Wordlessly, I sat down in lotus position and closed my eyes, but all I saw was Song…

* * *

"Wow, crushing much?" Po wondered.

Tigress shook her head, "He was just worried about her."

"I don't blame him," Monkey said. "To think how close she came to losing her freedom like that…"

"At least now we know why he took us on so quickly, right Tigress?" Viper said, rolling the scroll up.

Tigress remained silent, a contemplative look on her face and a faraway look in her eyes.

"Tigress?"

"Huh? Oh, yes, right, perfect sense," she mumbled distractedly.

"Are you alright?" Po asked.

"Fine," she answered quickly. "Fine…just fine." Her eyes flicked over to the other scrolls, silently hoping he hadn't written about the circumstances surrounding her arrival in the Jade Palace. None of her friends knew the truth, and she was hoping to keep it that way…

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

Memoirs of a Master

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: okey dokey kids, let's get this straight: I don't own KFP, and for the love of God, Dreamworks, if you ever read this, _I regret nothing_! I need to warn a few readers in advance that this chapter deals with something that many people today are still uncomfortable with, and to do it justice, this chapter is longer than usual. I'm not spoiling it. Please review…pretty please?

* * *

Po, in a rather uncharacteristic show of leadership—for he was the Dragon Warrior, after all—suggested the Five go train in the Training Hall while he made dinner for them. Truth be told, though, no one particularly wanted to go. One day…or two…maybe three days without training wouldn't be _so_ bad. Besides, it wasn't like Shifu would find out, right?

Instead, they sat around the kitchen table, talking idly about various subjects. Small talk revolved around the strange turn in the weather, the predictions of a harsh winter and the latest village gossip. The conversation quickly turned to memories the Five had of their Master…

"Remember that time he took us on that training mission to the village of Go-zhang?"

"Oh, don't talk about that—that was a _disaster_," Viper groaned.

"Tell me about it—my wing was out of commission for _weeks_!" Crane bemoaned.

Tigress rolled her eyes. "It wasn't so bad…once those crocs were out of the way, it got easier…"

"Says the one who suffered a broken leg and infected wounds…" Monkey muttered.

"They weren't _that_ bad."

"Sure."

Po dished out their meal, "Order up! Enjoy guys." He placed a bowl in front of Tigress, "Made with tofu…since, y'know, I know you like it."

She glanced up at him, oddly touched, but didn't let it show, "Thank you."

"So…" Po said, sitting down in his usual place. "What happened in Go-zhang?"

"We don't talk about Go-zhang," Mantis said flatly.

"Yes, lets move on to another…"

"Oh, what about the time you guys faced off against the army of a thousand foxes by the Dragon Mountain?!" Po asked energetically. This brought smiles to everyone's faces.

"Oh _man_ was that fun!" Mantis whooped. "So easy too—they took one look at Tigress and _ran _for it!"

"Really?"

"Yup, lucky for us she was on her 'lady's days' and was already testy enough…"

"Mantis, _shut up_," she growled.

"Lady's days?"

"Po, _shut up_," the feline snapped at him too.

Viper whispered to Po what they meant, and then it dawned on him. "…Oh…"

"Yeah."

"Well, that explains why that battle ended so quickly."

Everyone but Tigress laughed. She scowled at Po even as Monkey nudged her playfully. She picked up the bowl of soup and started sipping right from the bowl, hiding the embarrassed blush.

"Oh hey Tigress, remember when we teamed up with Crane's clan and took on those big dumb gorillas?" Viper asked.

Tigress smirked. "Oh yeah, _that_ was fun…"

"You bet—us girls kicked serious butt," Viper said, high-fiving her sister-in-arms across the table. The three other members of the Five looked away distractedly. Po had to ask: "What happened?"

Tigress replied smugly, "As it turns out, those gorillas hadn't seen a single female for months, so…Viper and I decided to use that to our advantage…"

The snake grinned, "We played along, making them think we were interested, then when they tried to make a move…"

Tigress slammed her fist into her palm, grinning wickedly. "Bam!"

"That's so cool!" Po said, "But why are you guys…"

Tigress and Viper both smiled smugly, the feline biting her lip to keep from laughing, the serpent explaining, "They're just embarrassed because they got hit on too."

"Even Mantis?"

"MOVINGRIGHTALONG," the insect said too quickly and much too loudly. "The street fight in Peking!"

"Yes, the street fight!" Crane said eagerly. Viper and Tigress just snickered. Po cleared his throat, "Or…so no one else gets embarrassed, why not go back to the memoir?"

"That works too."

* * *

The next seven years passed by uneventfully for us. We continued our training, we grew, we reached many milestones, learned many things. As Oogway had predicted, I learned a lot, and grew faster and stronger every day. Ochir's strength far exceeded anything I could ever do, but whenever we sparred—which was often—it was not unusual for him to lose (I believe he sometimes let me win). I suppose you know why: he was the mighty oak I needed to uproot. The point of what I was learning, to suit my strengths, was to use my opponent's strengths and weaknesses against him.

By my fourteenth summer, we had started learning to fight with weapons. Though Ochir preferred bare-handed combat, he was quite accomplished with a mace. Song chose a pole weapon called _pudao_, which was really a broadsword with a long, extended pole; she had outfitted it with a red scarf at the hilt of the blade to distract her opponents...and I know from experience how effective it was. Li on the other hand came to love another type of weapon altogether.

He was an expert marksman, with an eye as sharp as the arrows he fired. He'd learned early on that he had a sharp eye; Master Oogway had said they hadn't seen such a gifted archer in well over a century. This was the confidence boost Li had needed for years.

As a fox, he was naturally agile as well, and his inborn slyness made him ideal for using knives in close combat. He preferred not to use them though, which I found admirable. He was also pretty good with a rope dart, and again, I know this from personal experience.

As for me, I preferred less dangerous weapons, mostly because I hated the idea of actually hurting someone. Though I was pretty handy with staves, Oogway still suggested I learn to fight with a sword as well. "Though it pains me to think you might ever need it," he told me one day, "I would feel more confident if you knew how to use other weapons."

Every day, however, we trained hard, spending most of our days in the Training Hall on the obstacle course. The trampoline we had begun using to develop our leg strength and help us achieve greater height when jumping or kicking. This gave way to a new field, where wooden staves would shoot up at random times, to test our reflexes (when I became the Palace's main teacher, I later switched this to the Field of Fiery Death). The Forest of Twirling Tree Limbs was modeled after a legendary forest Oogway had visited once; Ochir almost always pulverized it (and poor Zhou quickly tired of filling out work orders for the damages). Li and I trained almost exclusively on the Jade Tortoise while Song was fond of the twirling dragons and avoiding the forebears of the Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion.

One morning as we were eating breakfast, Master Oogway made an exciting announcement.

"It has come to my attention that you four have done exceedingly well in your training. I am very proud of all of you." He beamed at us four teenagers. "Now, it has also come to my attention that the Valley of Peace will become host once again to the Annual Kung Fu Tournament…"

Our ears perked up, though mine, of course, were much more noticeable.

"…And I would like you all to compete."

We grinned. This was our chance to shine!

"And your families are all invited."

Our faces fell. Oh, _crap_…

I looked around the table. Ochir had very little contact with his father, but I knew from our years together that Master Terbish had been very harsh and expected too much from his only son. I knew all about Song's circumstances, and it surprised me that her parents would bother to come at all. And the only family I could think that Li had would be Master Jian Qiang.

As for me, I hadn't seen my family since I left home to become Oogway's student. It wasn't that they weren't proud of me—word from my natal village told that my father bragged about me nearly every day (and Mother usually chastised him for his pride). The problem was that my family was illiterate, so I never received even one letter, and they lived so far away that travel was near impossible. So for this reason, ten years had passed without seeing them.

Nervous? Me? No, never…

Oogway just smiled, "That's supposed to be good news."

"Oh, we're excited, Master," Ochir said sardonically. "Can't you tell?"

"I know Terbish may seem callous, but you must remember that the only one whose happiness matters is your own. Song, your mother will be there—no word on your father, yet."

She just stared at her plate; I stared back at her. Though only thirteen, she had grown into a lovely—if yet still awkward—teenage girl. I knew all about that awkwardness though; it sucks being a fourteen-year-old boy, after all, and _please_ don't ask me to elaborate on that.

* * *

After breakfast, we had the option of meditation or training; Li and I opted for sparring in the courtyard. His open-handed combat had gotten much better, and he and I were evenly matched, both of us small yet swift. Ochir even admitted to me one day how impressive it was to watch us in action.

Li blocked one of my serpent-like strikes, kicking my legs out from under me. I quickly regained my footing, swinging my leg into a roundhouse kick which he caught, flipping me over his head. I landed in a headstand, flipping over and assuming the dragon battle stance.

"Our families should arrive any day now," I said, striking out again. He blocked the blow, panting, "_Your_ family at any rate."

"Master said _our_ families, so that implies yours are coming too…" I pointed out.

"Unless Mom and Dad can come back from the dead, I highly doubt that. KYA!" He struck out at last—he was never one for offense—and I grabbed his wrist and took him down. He struck up, catching me in the shoulder so that I let go, and he jumped back up.

"Master said that Master Jian Qiang should be there!" I said.

Li froze. "M…Master Jian Qiang?"

I nodded, breathless and sweaty. We'd shed our shirts and were wearing just our trousers, leg wrappings, and bare feet. We stopped to take a breather and for a drink, which quickly turned into dunking our heads into the bucket to cool off. Li stared empty into space, "He's just coming to compete."

"I thought he stopped competing ten years ago?"

"That was the last time the tournament was held," Li explained.

"Then why is it called an 'annual' tournament?" I asked.

"Well, it hasn't been held for ten years because the last time it was held in Manchuria and, well, Manchurians are pretty hard-core. I think out of the three hundred warriors that competed there, 140 died."

My eyes widened. It hadn't occurred to me we could die in this thing. But 140 out of 300 warriors _dead_?

"But I don't think they would carry it on unless they changed the rules," Li continued. "Besides, I don't think Master Oogway would allow anyone to die."

"No, I highly doubt that," I said. "Besides, if we're competing, he's not going to let anything happen to us, right?"

We were silent for a moment, then Li said, "Sure, yeah…makes sense."

* * *

Our families arrived two days later. Song's mother was the first to arrive; her father was not going to attend, citing "business keeping him away in the Imperial City" (pompous ass) . To say it was a strained reunion was putting it lightly. Song wanted very little to do with her mother, especially after Miao Li complemented her daughter on "becoming a woman" (at the time, I had no idea what that meant. I obviously know now). Though I had to admit, Song was still very pretty, and getting prettier every day…

Ochir's father Terbish was next to arrive, the rhino just as abrasive as I remembered. Years of training with Oogway had made Ochir less like his father than Terbish was comfortable with. I could tell from the disapproving looks that Terbish was not fond of how his son was turning out, though I couldn't understand why. Ochir was an honorable warrior, and he would be a great master soon—he only had four years to go until his training was completed and he earned a new name as a master.

Much to my delight and Li's relief, Master Jian Qiang arrived, a wide grin on the wolf's face. His grey fur had turned whiter with the past ten years, but there was still youthful energy in his kind eyes. He grinned, forgoing propriety and hugging the kit like a long-lost son.

"Li! Great Emperor in Heaven, I almost didn't recognize you! You shot up like a weed! How have you been?"

Li was entirely flummoxed by this treatment, but he wasn't about to complain. This was the last thing he'd expected, but easily the happiest moment in his life to date. "I've been well, but I'm better now that you're here, Master."

Master Qiang beamed down at him, and turned to Oogway, "What did I tell you, Master? There is no way I could have molded him into the young man I see before me!"

Oogway chuckled, "Wait until you see what he can do—his archery is unmatched by any student I have trained in…well, I believe it's been over a century."

Li blushed, but smiled at the compliment. I stood off to the side, allowing him this moment to bask in his former master's paternal love. He deserved it, after all.

Master Jian nodded, "So I've heard. Well, it's certainly a good thing I brought that gift…"

"Gift?" Li looked up, surprised.

Master Qiang nodded. "To make up for all those missed birthdays…" he turned round and beckoned someone behind him. Up the steps came a shorter wolf, with charcoal grey fur and light grey eyes. He was the spitting image of the master. Master Qiang patted the boy's shoulder. "My son, Ren. Ren, you remember Li, don't you?"

Ren, who could not have been older than sixteen, smiled thinly, nodding, "Yeah, I remember you."

Li smiled nervously. "It's…nice to see you again, Master Ren."

Ren bit his lip, "I'm not a master…"

"Yet," Qiang grinned. "Both of you will be, and sooner than you think."

Ren suddenly remembered himself, hurriedly and clumsily offering a long wrapped package to Li. "H-here, happy birthday for, um, the last ten years we missed…"

Li was fighting down the blush, and he carefully unwrapped the gift…we all gasped.

It was a beautifully carved and intricate bow, made of a flexible dark wood, the grip wound tightly with treated leather. The carvings were of strange mythical animals, a dragon, a phoenix, a white tiger, and a tortoise with a snake. They were the four constellations that ruled the four Cardinal Directions: The Vermillion Bird of the South, the Azure Dragon of the East, the White Tiger of the West and the Black Tortoise of the North. With the bow was a quiver of arrows, fletches made of what appeared to be eagle feathers, the shafts long and strong.

Master Jian Qiang explained, "It belonged to a former prisoner of war—a Mongol general. They may be barbarians, but the Mongols are expert craftsmen and marksmen, and their bows and arrows are unmatched by any other archers in Asia, even our own…"

Li shouldered the quiver and tested the bow, flicking his finger over the twine, then pulling back on it. The bow bent back marvelously, the muscles in his arms taut and strong. He smiled, in awe at the impressive weapon. He looked up at his former master, utterly breathless.

"Master…I…I don't know what to say. I…I feel like I don't deserve this…This is too generous a gift."

"A shame; it was Ren's idea to give it to you."

Li's eyes flicked over to Ren's; the younger wolf looked away, looking uncomfortable. "I, um…I heard you were an archer, and I thought, since Mongol bows and arrows are the best in Asia that…that you'd need the best there was. 'Cause, y'know, a warrior's only as good as his weapon, right?"

Song and I shared a sidelong glance; this was odd. And extremely awkward; did Ren and Li not part on good terms? I felt that couldn't be it, judging from the grateful smile on Li's face.

"I don't know what I did to deserve such generosity…but thank you, Master Ren." He bowed low, Ren returned the bow, relief flooding his face.

"You're welcome, Li."

Master Qiang turned to look over his shoulder suddenly, then when he turned back, he smiled at me, ushering his son out of the way.

When I saw them, I felt my heart hammering in my chest, then leaping up into my throat.

My family—my entire family—stood just inside the vermillion gates, searching the arena for me. My mother saw me first, letting out a shocked gasp, her hand covering her mouth. I could tell even from that distance that there were tears in her eyes. My father spotted me, frozen in place, his expression unreadable. Everyone else, my aunt and uncle, my cousins, and two brothers, all stared at me in open-mouthed shock.

I had changed so gradually that I wasn't even aware of how much I truly _had_ changed. By now, even though I was only fourteen, I was taller than my father and two brothers, and my arms, my legs, indeed my entire body showed toned and slim muscles under my simple training clothes. I suppose there was something in my posture too, that would have made anyone doubt I was born the third son of a rice farmer.

My parents stepped forward, then my mother broke into a run; I didn't bother holding back and I ran to her, catching her in a firm, tight hug. When she wrapped her arms around me, I couldn't help the tears that came to my eyes, but she was crying openly. She looked into my face, cupping it in her hands.

"Great merciful Heaven," she gasped. "I can't believe it's you…Fu, my baby boy. Look how big you've gotten—if it weren't for you having your father's nose and eyes, I wouldn't believe it was you!"

This made me smile, which only made her cry harder, "Come on, Mama, I haven't changed that much…"

"Are you still running from baths?"

I blushed, "Mama!"

She smiled, "I guess not."

My father came over next, shaking his head in awe as he stared up at me—up! I was a couple inches taller; little did I know that the diet we ate at the Jade Palace was much better than what the general populace had. That, combined with the intense training and naturally healthy lifestyle, had caused me to "shoot up like a weed", as Master Qiang had put it. The problem was I wasn't done growing yet.

"Look at you," he breathed, shaking his head. "Never in all my years…"

"Baba, you're not that old." But in that moment I noticed the grey hairs on my parents' heads and the wrinkles on their faces. For ten years I had their images in my memory, but now, I was shocked to see that how they had aged since I left. Speaking of age, I was suddenly aware that someone was missing… "Where's Grandmother?"

My mother closed her eyes, and my father sighed. "She's gone into the next life, just a few months ago…if we could write, we would have sent word. We're sorry…"

I was too. I should have been aware, answered their messages sooner. Unfortunately, very few people in our village were literate, so if I had sent a letter, there was no guarantee that they'd be able to read it, if it ever arrived at all. I hung my head and muttered a silent prayer, hoping her spirit had made to Heaven safely.

"I know, had she lived long enough, and been strong enough for the journey," he continued, "and seen what you have become, she would be as proud of you as we are."

I smiled, hugging him as well, "Thank you, Baba…"

My father stepped back, then bowed to Oogway as the tortoise came forward. "Ah! The honored parents; it's been too long. How have you all been?"

"Very well, Master Oogway, sir," my father answered. "May I say, sir, how honored we are that you have trained our son well. We never thought possible how much honor he would bring to our family…"

Over his shoulder, I saw Elder Brother's face contort into an ugly mask. He glared at me, and I felt suddenly ill. I knew what that glare was for. As the eldest, he was expected to bring the most honor to the family. I had defied convention, and should have been outcast from society, and instead, I had made my family favor me over him. I was relieved, however, to see Second Brother actually happy for me.

While Oogway spoke with my parents and introduced them to the other adults, Second Brother ran over and hugged me—actually hugged me.

"Fu! I can't believe it. How is it here? What is it like?"

I had developed a wry sense of humor by then: "A barrel of fun."

He suddenly pulled away, poking at my shoulder. "Whoa…you got muscles."

"Yeah, that came with the barrel of fun," I joked.

He grinned and beckoned the rest of my family forward. My aunt, uncle and cousins were all glad to see me; Elder Brother stood back, arms crossed, silent as a stone. While everyone else wore smiles, he was the only one frowning. I wasn't looking forward to this inevitable exchange. I decided to avoid it, bringing my family over to meet my friends instead. They stared in awe at Ochir—they had never seen a rhino before. My mother absolutely _adored_ Song, and my father was impressed with Li. I can't tell you how happy it made me to see how quickly my family accepted my friends.

After enough time, Master Oogway invited us all to the evening meal, after they were all settled in. They would be sharing our rooms—I felt sorry for Song, whose strained relationship with her mother would make that arrangement quite difficult, and Ochir, who I was sure would argue bitterly with his father before this tournament was through. As for Li and myself, I had no concerns…

Except for Elder Brother.

* * *

Though it had been years before I had shared a single room with eight people, I settled into the routine quite easily. Mrs. Chen supplied all of us bedrolls and blankets, luxuries my family could only have dreamed of. My aunt said how worried she was that the Jade Palace would spoil them all, and how it was a marvel how I was not spoiled myself. Everyone quickly learned however that I _knew_ how lucky I was, and took nothing for granted.

When the call for dinner was made, everyone filed out, but Elder Brother and I stayed behind. He did it for his own personal reasons, whatever they were; I stayed because I knew I couldn't delay the inevitable.

"Is everything okay?" I asked. "I mean, are you feeling okay? Tired, hungry?"

"I'm fine," he said tensely.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Is there…anything on your mind, Brother?"

"What makes you think that, _Third Brother_?"

He was skirting around the issue; I wasn't having it. I've always been stubborn, if you'll recall. "I know something's up, and I think we should talk about it."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"No, there is…"

He stood up suddenly, glaring at me and snapping, "You have some nerve! You think you're smarter than me, that you can talk to me like that?! I think I should teach you your place, you stupid brat!"

"I _know_ my place," I said calmly. "I'm the third son of a farmer, you're the firstborn, and it's your duty to bring honor to the family…"

"Shut up! You heard Baba—you're the one who's brought us honor! You _stole_ my birthright!"

"No I didn't!" I gasped.

"Yes you did! If anyone should have been chosen, it should have been me! _I'm_ the eldest, _I'm_ the one who should have gotten that honor!"

"Brother, that wasn't my decision!" I defended. "If you have such a problem with it, take it up with Master Oogway! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"_You_ did nothing wrong?!" he snapped. "Who abandoned our family? Who was supposed to take orders from _me?_ Who was supposed to know his place and _keep_ his place?!"

"I KNOW MY PLACE!" I shouted. He stepped back in surprise as I snapped back, "And I think its time you remembered yours."

As soon as it left my mouth, I regretted it. He looked absolutely stricken; I tried to make it better, unsure if it would work or not: "I might be training to be a master of kung fu, but _you_ are still the eldest son. You'll inherit everything: our father's land, whatever fortune he leaves behind, and no matter what, even if I become a master in kung fu, you're right, you're still my older brother, and you will always be _my _master."

"No I won't," he said harshly. "Your master is that damned turtle…"

I almost lost it, but I took a deep, shaky breath, and glared at him, lowering my voice, "If you ever—_ever_—insult Master Oogway again, I will not hesitate to hit you, brother or not."

"Aren't I supposed to be your master?"

"If you want me to accept you as my master, you need to earn my trust and my respect first—right now you've got one, but you need to earn the other." It was uncharacteristically mature of me to say that, but that doesn't mean I didn't regret it. I took the chance he gave with his silence and I walked out. He had earned my trust as my brother; but I meant what I said: if he wanted me to respect him, he needed to earn that right.

* * *

I thought dinner would be awkward, so I took my seat closest to Oogway, next to my parents. Remembering my earlier argument, I asked my family to downplay my accomplishments, and Oogway seemed to sense that something was off. One look towards Elder Brother seemed to tell the whole story. Instead, he quizzed me on my studies of the 1000 Scrolls in the Hall of Warriors. By that time, I was already to Scroll 749: only a couple hundred to go, if I ever finished at all. I never did master all of them; that honor goes to Tai Lung. I only ever made it to Scroll 806.

When we were dismissed from dinner, Song—the most perceptive of all of us—suggested we students run through the obstacle course one more time before bed. Our families were tired, so they retired before us. As much as they wanted to see us in action, Master Oogway promised them that they would see everything the day we competed. We were on the schedule for the second day of the competition. The masters' tournament would begin in the morning, and already the inns and taverns in the village were filled with warriors from all across China, with not a single vacancy to be found.

The four of us walked to the Training Hall in silence, until we were far enough away from the bunkhouse. Ochir put his hand on my shoulder. "You okay?"

I sighed, "You heard me and my brother, didn't you?"

"If it helps, I don't think he was right—you do know your place; we all do."

Li and Song nodded. "Master has kept us humble, I think," Song offered. "Your brother's just jealous."

"Is it bad that I feel really, really angry right now?" I asked.

"Not really," Ochir shrugged. "You got a good reason to be. Me too, actually; Dad's been…well, he hasn't been such a nice guy," he didn't elaborate, but I could tell from Terbish's disapproving looks that they were bound to butt heads sooner or later.

"He thinks you've gone soft, you mean," Li said. Ochir nodded, "Like being slow to anger makes me weak…"

"No, that makes you _smart_," Song said, sighing. "Come on, let's go destroy something, we'll feel better."

"Actually," Li said, "Since I don't really have anyone to be mad at, I think I'll go up to the Sacred Peach Tree and meditate for awhile."

"Okay," I nodded. "You want me to come get you at lights out?"

Li nodded, "Please do. You know how I lose track of time…"

"No problem. If you change your mind, well, we'll be destroying things."

Li smirked, heading in the direction of the tree. "Gotcha. Destroying things never gets old."

* * *

An hour later, after Ochir, Song and I had beaten the ever living daylights out of the twirling tree limbs, we felt significantly better. There's something about hitting something inanimate that takes the aggression right out of you. Though in all honesty, I felt like hitting my brother more than a fake enemy.

Ochir looked much calmer, but sighed and plodded for the door. "I better get back…maybe Dad's asleep by now."

Song nodded, "Yeah, seems like a good a time as any. You coming, Fu?"

I nodded, putting the other equipment away, "Yeah, lemme just go get Li and I'll be there."

"Oh right, he's still at the Peach Tree…"

"Make it quick," Ochir said. "I'd hate to see him out of his master's good graces."

"If that's possible," Song said. "He's the luckiest of all of us—no family drama."

I nodded, "Yeah, lucky him."

We parted ways and I trotted up the mountain path to the Sacred Peach Tree. I had been there many times with Master Oogway, sometimes to meditate, mostly to talk. I eventually slowed to walking, not wanting to disturb Li too much if he were still meditating. As I got closer though, I heard voices up there. Two people, and Li was one of them. I smiled; maybe he was catching up with his old master.

I walked a little further, tiptoeing and unintentionally eavesdropping. But it wasn't Master Jian Qiang he was talking to, like I expected.

It was Ren.

"…wouldn't understand," I heard the tail end of Li's statement.

"They're your friends, Li, who else would know you better?"

"But it's wrong; if they knew—if Master Oogway knew—I'd be kicked out for sure. And your father wouldn't accept me back…"

"Li, he loves you like a son; he loves you as much as I—I mean, as much as he loves me. Besides, you can't live a lie."

"But it's not a lie if I don't tell the _whole_ truth, right?"

"Li," Ren said impatiently, "All you're doing is hurting yourself. I don't want you to hurt yourself."

"Ren, be serious," Li sighed. "We haven't seen each other in ten years. Are you seriously telling me what I think…"

"Yes."

I was close enough now that I could see them; they hadn't detected me. Li was looking up at the wolf in shock.

"What?"

"Yes, I am telling you exactly what I think…but I'm not taking this any further."

"But…"

"You're still young, and I think you're still a little confused. I don't want you to do something you'll regret."

"That's the thing, though, I don't think I'll regret it. But I'm still agonizing over it…"

"Then don't do that. Sure, maybe it's not the right time, and you're probably not ready…"

_Not ready?_ I wondered. _Does Li still not think he's a good enough warrior?_ I inwardly groaned; I thought his self-esteem had grown over the years… Then I stopped when I saw Ren hug him, whispering, "There's still time, and I want you to think about it, to seriously think about if this is really what you want."

"Ren, this _is_ what I want…"

"I'm not sure I believe that. I think you should think about it a little more."

"But what will I tell the others? What will I tell Fu?"

What should he tell me, indeed?

Ren sighed, "If he were a true friend, he would accept it and understand."

But I couldn't understand. Why would Li want to leave? What made him think we would turn him away?

Then I tripped.

They heard me and jumped away from each other, Ren by my side in an instant, helping up. "Are you okay?"

I nodded, brushing myself off, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine…I just came to get Li; it's almost lights out."

Li looked uncomfortable in the darkness; had he forgotten I would come for him? I suddenly wondered if he actually came to meditate at all.

Ren patted my shoulder. "Thanks for reminding us. But, um, I think there's something you two should talk about before you go…I'll give you some privacy."

As he walked away, blending in with the darkness, I looked at my vulpine friend and came to stand next to him.

"Li…is everything okay?"

He turned away from me, sighing. "I wish he hadn't set me up like this…"

"Li, come on, we're best friends…I've known you since you were four, practically our whole lives! If there's something bothering you, you know you can tell me."

"Fu, no offense, but this isn't something I want to talk about."

"But…" I paused, then decided, if he wasn't going to bring it up, I had to. "Why do you want to leave?"

"What?" he stared at me. "What're you talking…?" I could see him pale in the light of the half moon. "How much did you hear?"

"Only the last bit, about you being confused and not ready and…stuff," I finished lamely.

"So…you didn't hear everything."

"No. Look," I put my hand on his shoulder. "We're best friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah, of course we are," he nodded, still looking worried…and slightly uncomfortable. I noticed his brown eyes flicking over to the hand on his shoulder.

"Then why won't you tell me what's wrong?"

"Because…" he shook his head, looking away and muttering, "You wouldn't understand…you'd reject me."

"I would never do that! Even if you did something so horrible that nothing else could compare, I'd still love you…"

His head snapped up, his eyes wide, but I could see fear behind them. Great Emperor in Heaven…what had he done that was so horrible?

"You…love me?"

"Yeah…aren't friends _supposed_ to love each other?" Now _I_ was confused, very confused.

"Fu…this is really hard for me."

"Li, whatever you've done, I promise I'll accept you. If you want me to keep a secret, I will. I swear it."

His body started shaking, and now I was both confused and worried. I held him still, grasping him by the upper arms. "Li…Li, what's wrong? Tell me…"

He stared into my eyes, looking for the entire world like he was being swallowed up and dragged straight to hell. "Do you promise not to freak out?"

"I promise."

His eyes still locked with mine, he opened his mouth to say it, to finally confess, and I feared the worst. What could he have possibly done? But he paused too long, still staring at me, leaving me to wonder just what he was thinking behind those scared eyes.

He didn't say anything; it was what he did that stunned me.

He kissed me.

He kissed me, full on the lips, his hands resting on my hips.

I froze, stock-still with surprise. All of my thoughts came to a screeching halt after I reprocessed the parts of the conversation I'd heard: _they wouldn't understand…if they knew, I'd be kicked out…what do I tell the others…_and I realized what he had meant.

I didn't know what to think as I came to that dreadful conclusion.

Li, my best friend, the one I would die for if necessary, the one whom I trusted and loved as a brother…was a homosexual.

* * *

Viper closed her mouth, her eyes wide. When she looked up from the scroll, everyone's jaws had dropped. Shock was plainly written on their features, and everyone was completely silent.

Except, of course, for Po.

"Wow…did _not_ see that coming…"

* * *

That's going to be one awkward post-kiss conversation…


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

I understand some people may be bothered/surprised by that twist. If it bothers you, you don't need to continue reading. If it doesn't bother you, keep on truckin' people (don't ask me what that means, it was way before my time). Also, an early Happy Halloween to all! Enjoy the festivities, watch some scary movies and eat candy until your teeth rot (I am your dentist and I approved this message)!

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

Chapter 5

* * *

"Wow…did _not_ see that coming…"

The Five could only nod, too dumbfounded to speak. Po started to feel a little uncomfortable in that room, wondering what they were all thinking. So he asked, "So…his best friend was gay. Huh, imagine that…"

More stupefied silence.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that, right?"

Immediately the ice was broken and they simultaneously and vehemently denied, "No, of course not!"

"No way!"

"_Nothing's_ wrong with that."

"It's perfectly natural, I think…I mean, it's not like he _chose_ to be…"

"It's not _totally_ a lifestyle choice…"

Tigress voiced what was everyone's secret fear. "But…if Li was…does that mean Master Shifu _is…_?"

Po's eyes widened. That hadn't occurred to him, but judging from the awkward silence that followed, that was exactly what made them so quiet. It surprised him; was he more accepting than they were, despite his upbringing with a traditional and at times old-fashioned father? Were they bothered at the idea of their master being…?

He took the scroll from Viper, who acquiesced silently. He looked at the scroll and found there was more. "Well, at least let's see his reaction before we all judge him, right?" He began reading.

* * *

…In the next few seconds, my mind started to race, so fast that I started to feel dizzy…or was it the kiss? Dangerous thoughts ran unfiltered through my mind and with consternation I realized it felt good. But as enjoyable as it was to be in such close quarters with someone I cared about, I felt nothing behind the kiss; nothing nearing attraction, that is. But behind his lips demonstrated a passion I never before detected, or expected from him.

In that moment I realized _that_ was what made me uncomfortable…not the kiss. When had this passion surfaced? Had it always been there, and I had never noticed? I knew he was passionate about kung fu, but it never occurred to me his heart called out for something else. His being a homosexual was not what bothered me…it was seeing him for the first time as _a sexual being_ that both surprised and worried me.

He tore himself away, looking horrified at what he had done. I couldn't begin to say how I must have looked. I was certainly stunned, dazed, and any number of similar synonyms…but to both his shock and mine, I wasn't upset. Yet oddly, my right eye started to twitch…

"Wow…" I said. "That was...unexpected."

Li leaned against the tree trunk, looking utterly traumatized. "Gods in heaven…what have I done?"

"Um, I think you just kissed me…"

He fell to his knees, wheezing and sucking down quick breaths. He started to curse vehemently; Li _never_ cursed. "Shit…oh _shit_…"

"Li! You know how Master Oogway feels about language like…"

"Oh shut up!" he snapped, "What else am I supposed to say?!"

"How about…'I'm sorry for keeping this from you'? Or…"

"Aren't you _mad_?" he asked. "Aren't you upset? Don't you want to beat me up or kill me or…any of that?"

"No, a little, and no way!" I answered each question respectively. I _was_ upset, but only because _he_ was upset. But I knew why, of course; homosexuals were people I had heard of from my parents and from whispered offensive jokes in the village. It was supposed to be objectionable, immoral, sinful, and homosexuals—sometimes called sodomites—were supposed to be disgusting, despicable, even _evil_ people.

But Li wasn't _any_ of that. He was still Li; he was still my best friend. Nothing about him had changed in my mind, and neither had our friendship, or my feelings.

Believe me, even I was surprised by how well I was taking it. Especially given the way he had broken the news to me.

"You should talk to Master Oogway…"

"Fu, I can't…he'd turn me away," he said, desperation in his tone.

"What makes you say that?"

"You know what I am!" he cried, and I could see the fear in his wide brown eyes, even in that darkness. "You _know_ that the way I feel is disgusting and wrong! You _know_ that people like me are killed every day all over China for their disgusting acts!"

"Li, _stop_ it!" I yelled; I felt like hitting him for being so stupid, but I held back. "You are _not_ disgusting! I meant every word I said—you are my _best friend_, you're like a brother to me, more like a brother than my _own_ brothers, and I'll be _damned_ if I ever let anyone hurt you! If no one accepts you here, if everyone wants you to leave, I'll leave with you."

Though tears flooded his eyes, he sniffed and looked up at me, finally looking me in the eye. "W-what?"

"You heard me. Even if everyone rejects you, _I_ won't." And I wouldn't. How could I? He was my first true friend, the closest friend I ever—and would ever—have.

He started to cry, tears silently running down his cheeks, matting the red fur. We had a past, he and I, so many things we shared, so many accomplishments, failures, milestones and experiences that no matter what he did, I couldn't ignore or forget. Even if his being attracted to men, not women, was seen as immoral and a sure straight path to hell, I couldn't forsake him even if I wanted to. If that made me damned as well, so be it.

I knelt next to him and hugged him. "I know you don't want to, but I think you should talk to Master…"

"I'm not ready…Ren was right, I'm not ready…and I _am_ confused…"

_He_ was confused? How did he think _I_ felt? "You can't hide it forever."

"I know."

"I promise I'll keep it a secret, if you want me to."

"I know…thank you."

We sat like that for I don't know how long. I didn't care how late we'd be, I just wanted him to feel better. But I knew as well as he did the later we stayed out the more worried our families would be.

"It'll be okay," I said. "I promise…even if things get bad, I'll make it okay."

"Fu?"

"Yeah?"

"When I…when I did what I did…what were you thinking?"

"Um…I kinda wasn't…" I confessed.

"But did you like it?" he asked hesitantly, fearing my answer.

"Whaddya mean?"

"I mean, did you…_like_ it, like it?"

Ah, we had gotten to that. He was essentially asking if I preferred males as well. I was honest, as I had always been with him: "No offense, Li, I mean, you're a good-looking and nice guy and all…but I think I like girls."

He gave me his first smile of the evening, chuckling, "I understand. I kinda figured, too. But you had no idea I was…?"

I patted his back, "I'm not the most observant person here, you know."

"But you're still observant…I think Song knows."

"Song knows a lot of stuff—if she did, I think she woulda talked to you about it by now."

Li paused, then nodded, "That makes sense." Another pause. "But…this doesn't change anything, right? We're still friends…"

I gave him a one-armed hug, "Until the end. I promise."

Another long awkward pause between us ended when Li asked, "That kiss wasn't so bad, right? I mean, was I—it, any good? I mean, it's not like it was your first kiss or anything," he laughed.

I stopped. My right eye started to twitch again. Li stopped as well, a shocked and guilty look on his face. "Oh…Oh, man, I'm so sorry…"

"That's…that's okay," I said, trying to convince myself. "I guess I'll have to kiss a girl now to confirm my…" what was the word?

"Heterosexuality?" Li helped.

"Yeah, that."

He snickered, "Maybe Song would oblige…"

"And risk having my eyes scratched out? Forget it."

"Just a suggestion…"

"Um…"

"Yeah?"

"Was that your first, too?"

He blushed, "Um, yeah…"

I couldn't believe the words coming from my mouth. "Wow, um…well, you'll make someone a really lucky guy…"

"Not that this isn't awkward or anything…" he muttered.

Awkward? No, never…yet we decided to leave the conversation at that.

* * *

We four were up the next morning when the gong sounded, as usual greeting Master Oogway with our "Good morning, Master!" and rousing our families from slumber. It surprised me to see Master Jian Qiang looking tired and sluggish. He was a kung fu master, and a teacher, wasn't he supposed to set an example? Terbish, Ochir's father, reacted similarly, looking shocked to see his son up so early. Song glanced over her shoulder; her mother must have still been sleeping. My mother on the other hand awoke instantly. She smiled at me, and I smiled back.

Oogway nodded at us and instructed, "To the bathhouse, the four of you—remember to wear your uniforms today, you want to look your best."

"Yes Master!" we chorused. My mother stood on tiptoes to kiss my cheek, "We'll see you at breakfast, love."

While we filed out, I could hear Master Oogway behind us, rousing everyone from sleep. I glanced over at Li, who still looked a little shell-shocked from the night before. Song sent a look my way, silently begging the question "what's wrong with him?"

"Later," I mouthed. She nodded in understanding, and it made me wonder…_did_ she really know?

We boys went to one side of the bathhouse, Song to the woman's side. I admit to feeling a little uncomfortable undressing that morning, feeling like someone was watching me. A nagging thought entered my mind: if Li was attracted to men…was he also attracted to me? _That doesn't change anything_, I told myself. _We're friends, and I do what any friend would do. _

Even still, I was unusually modest about getting into the communal bath with them—let's be honest, as we got older, it did get slightly more awkward. For now though, I don't think either of us cared.

Li yipped suddenly, turning bright red when Ren suddenly joined us, a towel around his waist.

As if it couldn't get any more awkward…

"Do you mind if I join you?"

Ochir, who had absolutely no idea—thank the gods—smiled and waved him in. "Sure, whatever. We're all guys here, right?"

Li looked like he wanted to drown himself; I was starting to think it was a good idea. One sidelong glance at my friend, who had turned his back to us to rub soap furiously into his fur, told me what I should have gotten when he confessed his particular orientation.

He wasn't attracted to _me_…he was attracted to _Ren_! Then the second revelation hit me…Judging from the close—even _intimate_—hug I saw last night…that must have meant Ren was…oh sweet goddess of mercy.

I _willed_ myself to stay put and finish my bath, albeit quickly. Ren and Ochir were engaged in a civil conversation, both taking their time and excitedly talking about the warriors who would face off later today. Li suddenly ducked underwater, rinsed off and quickly exited, drawing confused looks from the rhino and wolf. "What was that about?" Ochir asked.

"Late for breakfast!" I said quickly, grabbing my own towel. "Heh, um, Mom hates it when anyone's late. See you!" I scampered out of there as quickly as I could, certain that I had left behind two very confused students. I caught up with Li in the changing room, remarking, "That was awkward…"

"No, that _sucked_," the fox said.

"Are you angry with him?"

"With Ren? What makes you think that?"

I gave him a deadpan look.

"You saw the looks I gave him?" he whispered.

"Yup."

"Crap."

"What did I say last night? I'm not going to judge you…but I don't want to see you get hurt, either."

"Would you be this way with a girl?"

"You know it," I said with a half-smile, punching his arm.

He smiled, beginning to towel off. "Thanks…um, did you want to do that behind the screen?" He nodded in my direction; I was gripping the towel so tightly around my waist it should have cut off my breathing.

I answered too quickly, "Yeah."

He smiled wanly, "Okay, I understand."

"I'm sorry…" I said, knowing that despite my earlier words, dressing and undressing in front of him made me self-conscious. I'd only known for less than twelve hours that my closest friend in the world was gay; cut me a little slack.

"Don't be. What do you want me to say if Ochir asks…"

"Tell him my family taught me to be a prude."

Li laughed. "Yeah right, that's the last thing I expected from you!"

It was true. When I had turned twelve, the three of us had noticed certain…changes in Song, particularly her behavior. I, being curious, asked Master Oogway what was wrong with her.

"Nothing's wrong with her, it is perfectly natural…it is Song becoming a woman."

"Huh?" Ochir asked.

Oogway just smiled and sat us down. Song was "resting" in her room; we found out very soon what caused her mood swings and sudden pain in her lower abdomen. Now, we had trained for a few years, so broken bones, and bleeding cuts, and blood in general weren't something we were squeamish about. _This_ kind of blood on the other hand…I remember we all shuddered, except for Oogway who only chuckled and continued.

"I suppose now is as good a time as any to tell you boys where babies come from…"

If one thinks having such a conversation with their parents is awkward, imagine getting "The Talk" from a nearly 1000-year-old tortoise who just so happens to be your kung fu teacher. Oh, we learned plenty about babies that day. We learned plenty about female anatomy (mind, I didn't want to know _how_ Oogway knew these things about women. There are some questions you're better off not asking). We learned about the changes that would happen to our own bodies. We also learned what happened when a man and a woman love each other very much.

At the time, we'd laughed it off, thinking he wasn't serious. We asked again two years later, after the aforementioned changes started happening, and realized he had been _perfectly_ serious. To avoid that awkward moment, we did what any young man was apt to do: beat the crap out of each other so we didn't have to think about it. Perhaps Song had a point when she said boys were weird.

Since we had become aware of "clouds and rain" as Oogway had called it, suddenly those off-color jokes we'd heard in the village made sense. I kept Ochir and Li laughing with a few of my own; it embarrasses me to think I knew what I was talking about.

No, Ochir knew I was no prude. Sexually repressed, maybe, but no prude. I toweled off and dressed quickly, meeting Li outside just as Ren and Ochir left the baths. Li still looked flushed, gulping down air like life-giving water. "You okay?"

"I will be, if I don't have to sit next to him."

"You know you just jinxed it."

He stopped dead, then cursed. "Damn it."

* * *

Oh, he'd jinxed it, alright. In fact, he was seated right in between Ren and Master Oogway. I don't think he could have had any worse bad karma. Needless to say, I did not envy Li's position. I would not have been as conversational as he was being with his lupine companion, but he was fortunate his red fur hid his blush very well. I could only imagine the string of curses running through his head. Within the next couple of years, he would have the foulest mouth of the lot of us (though I came in at a close second).

"Could he _be_ anymore obvious?" Song whispered.

I froze. "You…you know?"

She rolled her blue eyes at me, "Please, I might be pretty, but I'm not stupid. I'm surprised it took you so long to get it…or did he tell you?"

I lowered my ears, "Last night, he told me…"

"Took him long enough."

"How _did_ you know?"

"I figured it out when I learned he was the only one who didn't try to take a peek at me while I was dressing in the morning."

I averted my gaze uncomfortably. Okay, Ochir and I were guilty, I admit it. We were teenage boys, what did she expect? And _fine,_ maybe we tried sneaking peeks while she was in the bathhouse too…

"How long have you known?" I asked.

"A year. I'm waiting for him to tell me."

"You're okay with it?"

"I'm surprised _you_ are," she confessed, looking me dead in the eye. "You came from such a traditional family…"

"Who I haven't seen for ten years," I reminded her. She sighed and nodded, remembering the strained conversation at the breakfast table. My father had embarrassed me by asking why Song bothered to learn kung fu, should she not be preparing for marriage soon? I cut him down before she had the chance to unsheathe her claws. I told him what an amazing fighter she was, how she far exceeded even my abilities, and how I hoped I could be a fraction of a fighter as she was. My mother almost dropped her chopsticks in shock; the rest of my family looked scandalized. A look over to Master Oogway showed me he was trying to hide a smile and conceal a laugh behind his teacup.

I had changed more than I thought; it hadn't occurred to me how…_backward_ my family's views could be sometimes. But they had never met a homosexual, to my knowledge. How could they judge what they did not know? Moreover, I worried that if they knew about Li, and about our close friendship…would they think I was a homosexual too?

The gong sounded and the first match was set to begin. We cheered the True Masters, one representing every province in China. What a menagerie! Oxen; strange creatures with long elongated noses called "elephants"; rhinos, antelopes; sheep; dogs and cats; frogs and birds; lions and tigers and bears and…oh my! Standing next to Master Jian Qiang stood a creature I had never seen before, but one I would become very familiar with in my future.

It _looked_ like a cat, but unlike any I had ever seen. His fur had a silvery sheen in the sunlight, dark grey rosette spots covering his body, his build strong and brawny, making Master Qiang look puny in comparison. His tail was longer than even a tiger's, spotted as well, and as bushy as a fox's. Fearsome claws extended from his large paws and a chiseled yet weather-beaten façade completed my overall impression of this creature being a formidable warrior. The feline's silver-blue eyes—so rare in his species, I later learned—flicked to the side, catching Master Qiang's gaze, and both smirked at each other. I knew that when—not if—these two faced off, it would be a battle to end all battles.

I tapped Master Oogway's arm. "Master, what kind of creature is that?"

Oogway followed my pointing finger and chuckled. "I'm not surprised you don't know. It is very rare to see a snow leopard outside of the northern and western mountains."

"A snow leopard? Is that what he is?" Truth was, I had only heard of them as creatures of myth. Grandmother had told us stories about Snow Cats, more ferocious than tigers, and formidable creatures that lived on the peaks of the highest mountains, braving blizzards and feeding on ice and whatever unfortunate soul wandered too far into their territory. Now that I was older, it was no wonder why people who climbed the tallest peaks were never heard from again: the fools would freeze to death up there, and no one was stupid enough to go looking for them. Because those people never received proper burials, the mountains earned reputations for being haunted by hungry ghosts; thus, the Snow Cats became "gods of the dead", whether they liked it or not.

Now that I had seen a snow leopard for myself, I caught myself thinking, "he doesn't _look_ like a death god". He looked hot—physically, I mean; in the south china summer heat, and all that fur, I didn't envy him—but dangerous and evil, no.

"Oh yes," Oogway smiled knowingly; he'd heard those same superstitious stories, and then some. "As a matter of fact, I believe he is the student of someone I trained well over fifty years ago…his name escapes me at the moment."

The gong sounded again, signaling the first pair of fighters to take their positions. An ox armed with twin hammers faced off against an antelope bearing a spear and net. They bowed to Master Oogway, then to each other, and the match began.

* * *

The day was quite exciting, to see every fight, cheering the winners, gasping at particularly nasty blows, booing those who we felt had cheated. I flicked my eyes over to Li, who was sitting enraptured with the fights below, and completely missing the looks Ren was giving him.

Then I spied Master Jian Qiang sitting on the sidelines next to the silver-eyed snow leopard. The wolf was staring up at his son and former student, only half-listening to what his companion was saying until the cat nudged him with his elbow. I felt a lump rise in my throat; did Ren's father know, too?

Song grabbed my arm, "Master Jian Qiang and my mother are up next!"

Master Miao Li had performed very well in the earlier rounds, but now she was up against a true opponent: her old comrade-in-arms, Jian Qiang. The pair met on the arena floor, bowed to each other; I could read their lips. He said "Just like old times."

She frowned, "Let's hope it's not _too much_ like old times."

I had little time to wonder what they meant by that. They were equally armed with staves, which I was excited about. Maybe I could learn something from these masters that could help me in my own training.

Miao Li struck first, Qiang blocking swiftly, then twirled the staff over his head, swinging it towards her middle. She blocked, and quite quickly the battle turned from simple and lightly carefree—much like sparring—it became more heated, as if the two of them couldn't stand each other. I looked to my right; Master Oogway looked worried at what he saw. Before he had the chance to cut it short, Qiang cut Li down, striking her knee, causing it to buckle and make her fall. Oogway cut it short immediately, calling Jian Qiang the winner of the match.

It was the look the older feline sent to the wolf that both startled and amazed me; I expected her to be angry, because he'd used a very sneaky and barely legal blow. Miao Li looked saddened, yet…was that hope I saw in her eyes? Song, however, was livid.

"That son of a…"

"Song!" I hushed her. "He's a master!"

She hissed back, her lips barely moving, "He knows that's my mother's weak knee! She injured it years before I was born, fighting side by side with him."

That couldn't be. As I watched Master Jian Qiang and Miao Li bow in respect to each other, I was horrified by the idea he would be so dishonorable. Oogway seemed to sense my unease, having heard Song's outburst.

"You mustn't blame him, Small One," he said. "That is what kung fu is about, using your opponent's weakness against them."

"Master, there's no way that could be legal…or right."

"In the context of a match like this, it is perfectly legal, but that is as far as I will allow it. There are to be no death matches here."

"Why did he fight so fiercely? He seems so nice…"

"Many warriors who seem kind are the ones their opponents underestimate. Do you think Jian Qiang keeps defeating the Mongols by killing them with kindness?"

"But…the point of kung fu is to protect, not harm…"

He sighed, "Inevitably, you will bring harm to another. It is true, kung fu is meant for defense, not offense. Some warriors adhere to that code, others do not."

"So…Master Qiang has killed?"

"It is not often that there occurs a bloodless war," he said simply, his smile fading.

"He hurt Song's mother…"

The smile came back, "Something I'm sure she'll make him regret later."

Suddenly the crowd roared. Below on the arena floor, the snow leopard had stood, helping Miao Li into his seat. He sent a glare to Qiang, then shed his shirt and picked up Miao Li's staff. Song and I shared a look; Ochir reached over and nudged me. "I don't get it," he said. "He's not scheduled to go today…there's no fight between a snow leopard and anyone else…"

"Something tells me he's not waiting," I muttered back.

"If I didn't know any better," Song said with wonderment, "I say he was fighting for my mother's honor…"

Oogway nodded, "That is exactly what he is doing." He stood, holding up his hand for silence. He nodded at the snow cat, "State your wishes, warrior."

The snow leopard slammed the end of the staff into the floor. His voice was strong and stable, but contradictory in its humility under such a commanding exterior; and yet I detected…_youthfulness_ to it? "I challenge that wolf's victory; I feel he has taken advantage of another warrior's weakness, and I question that blow's legitimacy."

"You are fighting for the lady's honor?"

The snow leopard looked surprised at this interpretation. "No. I do not fight for honor. I fight for justice."

Oogway's face dawned with recognition. "Zigsa…I thought that was you. Very well, I will allow this. Choose your weapons, and take your positions."

Master Jian Qiang's face hardened, glaring at the snow leopard. I had heard of this Zigsa as well, though very little. Though rare to see most snow leopards outside of mountain ranges, this warrior was more of a diplomat and a judge than fighter. He followed in the wake of injustice, and fought it, sometimes within the legal system, and sometimes on the battlefield. I didn't learn the entirety of his vigilantism until later.

A collective gasp rose from the crowd as Zigsa held up the staff in his hand, and snapped it in half on his thigh, throwing the broken pieces away.

"What's he doing?!" Ochir gaped. "That fool's gonna get himself killed!"

"No one dies from getting hit with a staff," I argued, then pondered, "Do they?"

"They do if Jian Qiang's wielding it…" the rhino said ominously.

Qiang narrowed his eyes at the snow leopard, the latter leaning down into a low battle stance. They waited for the gong, then began circling each other. This was unlike any battle I had witnessed yet; Oogway stiffened next to me, and that was reason enough for me to worry. Glancing over, both Li and Ren looked pale. Song suddenly gripped my hand and I knew what was possible.

Unlike earlier battles, there was no clear favorite, and no clear winner.

Qiang's style was quick, fierce movements, not afraid to strike when necessary. But from what little I could glean from the snow leopard's style, he preferred low battle stances, keeping his body low to the ground, his fingers ghosting over the arena floor, his face trained on his opponent. That was why they were circling each other: they were waiting for the opportune moment, for _one_ of them to give the other an opening.

We waited with bated breath, and it seemed not a single person in the audience breathed.

Qiang struck first.

Zigsa blocked it with his arm, grasping the staff with his hand and lifting up. Qiang jumped right over his head, landing in a split and swinging his leg out, taking the snow leopard's feet out from under him. The cat somersaulted backwards, landing in a crouch, and jumping out of the way as Qiang swung the staff at his head. Zigsa was a sight to behold, ducking and weaving, his powerfully built body belying a grace I didn't think possible in a creature so big.

If Qiang was getting discouraged, he wasn't showing it. He still came at the cat, blow for blow, the cat blocking every single strike without breaking a sweat. He turned on the ball of his foot, swinging his leg into a roundhouse kick to Qiang's side, the long tail wrapping around the wolf's ankle and yanking hard.

Zigsa landed in a crouch yet again, his fingers lightly touching the ground. He remained in that crouch as Qiang struggled to get back to his feet. He was holding his side; he had cracked a few ribs. I looked back at Zigsa, who hadn't moved a muscle, yet his eyes were trained on Qiang's face.

Qiang leapt high into the air, ready to bring the staff down on Zigsa's head when the snow leopard struck. Using only two fingers, he hit the wolf in the sternum. This drew a horrified gasp from the crowd, and Master Oogway.

I saw Zigsa's face pale, horror spreading quickly across his features when he'd realized what he had done.

Jian Qiang fell to the ground with a heavy thud. The arena was silent as a crypt.

Ren stood, taking a few steps forward. "He's…he's not moving. Why isn't he moving?" His voice echoed, and I heard Zigsa swear loudly before scrambling towards the body.

Oogway rose and moved with a speed I had never seen before. I had no idea a tortoise could move that fast; he was by the wolf's side in an instant. Zigsa was muttering frantically, his hands and fingers moving over the wolf's chest. "I hit the wrong nerve…" he swore again.

Oogway said in a tone that demanded immediate compliance, "Lift him up, now."

Zigsa obeyed, lifting the prone canine to a sitting position, the wolf limp in his arms. Oogway knelt behind the wolf, took a deep meditative breath, then struck the wolf's back with a single, open-palmed hit.

Jian Qiang's eyes flew open, and he sucked down air, coughing violently. He recovered quickly, his hand grasping the area over his heart.

The five of us youngsters finally let out the collective breath we'd been holding. Ren ran right to his father's side, his charcoal-grey face suddenly an alarmingly ashen pallor. We four students of Oogway ran out to assist him. Together, we helped the lupine master stand, and Miao Li limped out into the arena to help. I didn't think what kind of impression we made on the audience; my friends and I had far greater concerns. We later learned that the audience of villagers and warriors were impressed with our concern for our fellows.

I looked back over my shoulder after we'd handed Master Qiang off to medics. Zigsa still knelt on the arena floor, staring at the paved stones. He closed his silvery eyes as Oogway rested his hand on his broad shoulders. I heard him take a deep breath and said, "I wish to withdraw."

"You won the battle, and have many more before you," my master said.

"This was no victory—I almost killed him. He was lucky you reacted so quickly."

"Every warrior has a weakness," Oogway told him. "I now know yours as well as you do. You fought honorably and we couldn't ask any more."

Zigsa finally stood, looking guilty. "The fact remains that I could have killed him."

"In kung fu, this sometimes happens." Oogway walked with him off the arena, sending a hand signal to the referee to continue the tournament as scheduled. "You made a mistake; it happens."

"I didn't mean to…it was an accident."

"There are no accidents," Oogway said sagely; how was I to know how that saying would affect my future as well?

I stepped aside to allow the large cat to pass. Up close, I finally saw how big he really was. He towered over my master, and me, certainly. The snow leopard stopped, and turned his head around, sensing my presence, but didn't look down at me until I cleared my throat, "Sir, would you like to sit?"

The confused look left his face, then he finally looked down. His hand reached out, as if he were feeling the air. Then he knelt, his hand resting on my head. Surprise etched on his features, his fingers moved over my ears and down my face.

This was making me exceedingly uncomfortable, as you can imagine. I saw that by the seat he had abdicated for Miao Li was a long wooden staff, painted white. And for the first time, his silver-blue eyes made sense. I gasped sharply.

Every warrior has a weakness, and I finally recognized Zigsa's. He was blind.

"What kind of creature are you?" he asked curiously, bringing me out of my shock.

"Um, I'm a red panda."

He blinked in surprise. "Master Oogway…you took on a _red panda_ as a student?"

"I did," Oogway said proudly. "You should see how fast he is."

_You should _see_ how fast he is. _I thought that was incredibly insensitive. Instead of reacting in anger, Zigsa snickered, "Yes, if only…but I can see in my own way."

"Um, _how_, if you don't mind me asking, sir?" I asked.

He chuckled, pressing his fingers into the ground again. "Try punching me."

"Excuse me?" I asked. Was he serious? I couldn't punch a blind man!

"Just do it, small fry. Trust me, you won't hurt me."

I just stared at him, then shrugged, throwing a punch—to my amazement, he caught it! He swung his arm in a chopping motion to take me down, but I jumped up, somersaulted forward over his head and landed in a crouch behind him. He turned, looking amazed; then he grinned. "Ha! That's what I thought. Took him on for his speed and agility…I never would have thought that in a red panda."

"Small One never ceases to amaze," Oogway smiled.

I realized how he did it. "You can feel vibrations in the ground!" I gasped. That was why he pressed his fingers into the ground, and kept such low battle stances: to feel the vibrations from his opponent's feet hitting the floor.

He smiled and nodded, "Perceptive too. Oogway chose well when he brought you on as a student."

Blood rushed to my face, and I was grateful he couldn't see it. "My friends are much better than I," I covered. "Li's a great archer, Ochir's much stronger than I am, and Song is…"

"Song is Miao Li's daughter," he finished for me, "So I know she's good." He paused. "Why don't you and your friends come down to the valley for a meal at the Blue Dragon Inn tonight? My treat."

My friends looked shocked at the offer from a total stranger…who just happened to have come dangerously close to killing someone we knew; I did the only polite thing I could think of, "Oh, we couldn't…we wouldn't want to impose…"

"No imposition. I have yet to 'see' what you all can do…" he chuckled, "If my guesses are correct—which they usually are—I won't be disappointed."

I looked back at my friends, who still looked a little uncomfortable.

"I have a better idea," Oogway said. "Tonight, stay up here. We have plenty of food to feed an army…"

"You're sure I'm welcome?" he said in reference to Jian Qiang.

"This _is_ my home, and you _are_ my guest," Oogway said pointedly. Ren glanced at his father; this was an untold message that left no room for another interpretation. Zigsa was staying for dinner, no matter how Master Qiang—or Zigsa—felt.

* * *

I had gotten used to awkward dinners, but that didn't make them any more enjoyable. Oogway excused us early to train before our competition the next morning, and we bowed to our families and honored guests before going to the training hall's courtyard.

"Well, that sucked," Ochir said scathingly.

"Tell me about it," Li said. "I didn't think Master Qiang could glare that much…"

"It's his own fault," Song huffed. "If he hadn't hurt my mother, that snow cat wouldn't have had to beat him up…"

"Song, he almost _killed_ him," I pointed out. "I don't think I'd be too happy to share dinner with him either."

Li stopped us and pressed a finger over his lips, urging us to be quiet. Ochir hid us behind some thick bushes, finding that the courtyard was already occupied.

"…wasn't personal," we heard Qiang say.

"Not personal?" Miao Li snapped. "You _know_ about my knee, you've known about it for years."

"Li, please, lets not be like this…we didn't part on good terms last time…"

"You _think?_ You didn't even come to my wedding!"

"Gee, I can't imagine why…" he said flatly.

"I had no choice but to marry him."

"You _always_ had a choice! Didn't Oogway tell you that?!"

"I couldn't risk my family disowning me, which is exactly what would have happened if we had…"

"Damn it to Hell, Li! We were trained by a master who made us better than that! We are kung fu masters; we're not _like_ ordinary people! That _lowlife_ you call a husband doesn't deserve you!"

"Oh, and _you_ do?!" she screamed. "You stopped deserving my love twenty years ago."

"What did I do that was so horrible?" he asked. "What did I do, Li? You loved me at one time, so what went wrong?"

"What went wrong?! How _dare_ you act so innocent!" she turned to him, eyes blazing. "All that ever mattered to you was strength! All that ever mattered was kung fu! You swore you loved me, would protect me, and all those other empty promises that you never kept? And _that girl_…"

"Peony has nothing to do with this," he said darkly.

"She has _everything_ to do with this!" she cried. "She bore you a son for heaven's sake!"

"Ren is only sixteen," he said. "So don't you think that he's the reason I married her."

"So you're going to blame my marriage on your unhappiness?"

"I would have done anything to keep you from marrying him! I would have given you everything!"

"Everything but a child of my own!" she snapped.

From our distance, all four of us could see the change in his expression, and we all knew it by instinct: heartbreak. "So that's it? _That's_ the reason? All these years, and all you wanted were children…" he looked at her. "We could have had children…the students, we could have…"

"Could have what? Adopted? Don't you get it? That's not what I wanted, Jian! I wanted to know the joy of bringing _life_ into the world. I wanted to have the same joy other mothers had."

"So you threw away everything we had…for a baby?"

"You knew our love was doomed from the start—we both agreed it would never get serious."

"But it _did_ get serious, Li," he said, staring at her. "It _did_ get serious…which reminds me, what did your husband say about it on your wedding night?"

She slapped him hard enough to send him reeling, and make _us_ wince as if we had been on the receiving end. She spit on his feet. "Using that good-old double-standard, are you? How a woman can spread her legs to just _one_ man and she's a whore, while men like you spread the legs of _many_ women and its just 'boys being boys'…I wonder who the _real_ whore is?"

He seemed to ignore the slap, though I'm sure it stung judging from the bruise that was developing under his fur. "What did he say, Li? Did he regret it?"

"No," she said quietly. "No, he did not. Our marriage may have been arranged, but the moment we laid eyes on each other, we knew we would be happy together. I was honest with him, I told him about our past, and he told me 'only one man? Well, I've had many more partners than that, so I can't pass judgment one you, can I?' He didn't care, he loved me regardless. We have beautiful children, and we are happy together."

"_We_ were happy together."

"Is that what you've been telling yourself all these years?" she turned and walked away. "Its over, Jian. It was over a long time ago." She was gone a minute later, leaving him alone, dejected and rejected, in the middle of the courtyard. He sighed, rubbing his cheek, then he walked away as well.

We were breathless, but what Li, Ochir and I were feeling probably couldn't hold a candle to how Song was feeling. I bit my lip, looking at her. She looked shocked by this revelation about her mother. None of us knew what to say or even if we wanted to say anything at all. Finally, Song sighed and said, "Well, that explains some things."

We stayed silent.

"Oh come on, guys," she rolled her eyes. "Stop acting like someone died."

"Are…are you _sure_ you're okay?" Ochir asked slowly.

"Yes, Ochir, I'm fine."

"Liar," Li glared.

"Okay, fine, so I'm a little shaken up…" she admitted.

I took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'll let you beat me up, if it'll make you feel better."

"Do you _enjoy_ getting hit by a girl?"

"Not really," I admitted. "But I'm broke, so I can't exactly buy you another wall scroll, can I?"

She smirked; it became a sort of unspoken deal between us. Whenever something traumatic happened to her—like the time her grandparents passed away, when she heard there was a famine back home, and yes, even the day she first started her "Lunar Cycle" as we called it—a new painting or piece of art was acquired in some way, shape, or form. The pig who ran the art stand in the village stopped bothering to haggle with us.

She sighed, "Okay. I promise not to give you a black eye until tomorrow's tournament."

I don't know why I felt comforted by this; I shouldn't have, but that was just the nature of our relationship. It wasn't for another few years, until after I became a master, that I learned what "masochism" was.

Ochir stepped in, "Naw, beat me up instead. I can handle it better than pint-size here."

Yet another slightly damaging relationship; what had started as an all-out hate-hate relationship eventually became a friendly, competitive rivalry, full of similar insults, though lacking the sting they originally had. For instance, it wasn't unusual for him to poke fun at my size, and when he used the same word more than once, like "shorty" or "small fry" or "pipsqueak", I'd insult his intelligence and limited vocabulary. He'd bought a thesaurus not too long after, and our contest started anew. The credit for most elaborate and eloquent insult still goes to Ochir: "You, my friend, are an unapologetically nonsensical, pseudo-erudite cretin." Translation: "You're a gods-damned idiot."

Years later, that one still makes me laugh.

Song thought about it, then smiled, "Alright, pretty boy. For your sake, I'll avoid the face." She smirked when his hands moved down to protect the, ahem, most _vital_ point on a man's body. "_And_ below the belt," she added. "It figures men with all their big talk have such small…"

"Hey!" he cried foul before she could finish her statement, "You said you'd never bring size into it!"

"It's not the size, its how you use it," I smirked.

"That's what she said!" us three boys chorused and then high-fived each other. "Nice!"

Song slapped a hand to her forehead and ran it down over her face. "Ugh, _men_… And Fu, how did I know you'd take it _there_?"

"Because it's me."

"I call shenanigans!" Li grinned, making Ochir laugh. I think we realized too late that getting to bed that night would be near-impossible. We were hyper, yes, but we were "high on life", as they say. Letting off some of the pent-up energy that we had suppressed since our families arrived, and now, we just wanted to be normal teenagers: teenagers with sex constantly on the brain, yes, but teenagers nonetheless.

"If you three don't stop, I'm kicking _all_ your asses tonight," Song threatened.

Feeling particularly suicidal, I said, "That's what she said! OW!"

"Pervert," she growled after hitting me.

We let Ochir and Li go ahead of us, and Song grabbed my arm, "So…you're still okay with our Li being…?"

"Yeah, definitely," I nodded.

"So how exactly did he tell you?"

My eye began to twitch again. Then I recalled what Li and I had talked about earlier. I glanced over at Song, and apparently I had a death wish that night.

Before she could protest, I grabbed her by her shoulders and crushed my lips to hers. Oh, this felt _much_ better. While Li's kiss was…it was _okay_, I suppose, this kiss was _fantastic_. Song stiffened in my arms, and I'm sure her tail had frizzed up in shock, but to my shock—and probably hers—she kissed back, if only for a moment.

Then her fist collided with my face.

"What the _hell_ was that?!" she snapped.

"I was confirming my heterosexuality," I explained.

She stared at me, utterly confused, until it finally dawned. "Wait…_that's_ how he told you?"

I nodded.

"Oh…well, in that case, I'll let it slide. I'm sorry for punching you."

"It's okay. I probably deserved it."

"So…is your straight-ness confirmed?" she asked.

"Oh yeah. Yeah, _definitely_," I smiled, grinning like an idiot. I paused, then asked, "You're going to kill me now, aren't you?"

"Only if you do it again…without my permission."

"Do wha—?" she didn't let me finish, lightly pecking my lips. Wonder of wonders, my eye stopped twitching. Instead, I developed quite the stupid grin, one I'm sure put my previous one to shame.

"Tell anyone I did that," she threatened, "and I'll make you regret it."

There was no room for argument: "Yes'm."

* * *

Viper snickered. "Okay, I thought I liked Song _before_…"

"Girl's got moxie, I'll give her that," Mantis smirked.

"She moves fast for a thirteen year old…" Crane said slowly.

"Although Shifu _did_ kiss her first…" Monkey pointed out. "Judging from what we've read, that could have played out the same way if Po suddenly kissed Tigress…"

"Do NOT get any ideas," the aforementioned feline growled at the panda.

Po rolled up the scroll, setting it aside, "Don't worry. Unlike 'Small One'…I'm not suicidal."

* * *

OMG Review! XD


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: We've been over this, I dun own it. Stop pestering me about it or I'll sick the llamas on you. Yes, llamas.

Haven't been feeling well lately. Despite getting a flu shot, it seems I have no immunity from the common cold (damn it). To add icing to the cake, I get to have all four wisdom teeth removed on Monday. Well, at least I'll have Kung Fu Panda on DVD to help speed along my recovery. :D

FYI: The cold remedy mentioned in this first part actually exists…sorta. One of my old college buddies wasn't afraid of taking risks, and one of those risks resulted in a bad cold. Long story short, he thought that since chicken soup, Vitamin C, garlic, and hot peppers are all supposed to fight a cold, and taste good on their own, theoretically, if you mixed them together it would _not only_ beat the cold, but it would actually _taste good_. (This is a guy who almost overdosed from _table salt_, for cripe's sake).

I tried a drop of it. I don't recommend it. Tigress' reaction was MY reaction after a drop—a DROP—of that vile stuff. God-awful as it was, damned if his cold wasn't gone two days later. I'm sticking to my chicken soup, thank you very much.

Read and Review!

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

* * *

Chapter 6

* * *

Po snickered to himself the next morning as he was making breakfast. Snow was only just starting to fall again, little specks of white crystals dancing an intricate ballet on the wind as they gracefully fell to the earth. It wasn't officially the winter season yet—they still had another couple weeks to go—so this snowfall was uncharacteristic for their region. While Po appreciated the beauty of the trillions of ice crystals veiling the landscape under a sheet of white, he contemplated what they had learned yesterday about their master…

The door to the kitchen opened, and he was surprised to find Tigress there, a thick blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She looked dead tired.

"Hey, you okay?"

She sniffed, "Fine…"

"Sounds like you got a cold."

"Ngn…" she groaned, sitting down, hugging the blanket closer, practically burrowing under it.

Po sighed, "I tried telling you that training last night was a bad idea…"

"Shut up."

"Just sayin'…you weren't dressed warm enough, with that sleeveless vest and linen pants…"

"I don't need a lecture from you, panda," she snapped, then sneezed violently. "Ah…ACHOO! Guh…" she groaned again.

He handed her a napkin, which she accepted gratefully. The panda took pity on the tiger, and started making a special breakfast.

"What're you doin'?" she said with a cold-induced slur in her tone.

"Makin' ya somethin' to fight the cold. Dad used to make this every time I got one. It'll warm you up, too."

She sniffed, inwardly groaning when she realized her sinuses were seriously clogged. "That's if I can taste it…"

He smirked evilly, "Oh, you'll taste it alright…"

Tigress flicked her eyes over to watch him, her inborn feline curiosity overcoming her instinct to crawl back to bed. A simple porridge, with slices of dried apricots and a handful of dried berries—hmm, not bad—and honey to soothe her throat. Tigress smiled; alright, she couldn't complain about… _Why is he adding so much honey?_

Her thoughts were interrupted when the other Five had came into the kitchen—and gave their condolences to their leader for her illness. Breakfast was served up; Tigress never got the chance to watch Po finish her special meal. Po had added some licorice root and preserved orange slices to flavor the rice porridge for everyone else, a creative gamble that paid off. For Tigress, however, he set a different kind of dish…

"This had better work…" she groaned, her voice betraying the severity of the congestion in her nose.

"Try it, it'll warm you up, soothe your throat, and clear up your sinuses, too."

Initially unsure, Tigress tried one bite. Well, that wasn't so bad. A little sweet, slightly tangy, the consistency of a thick cream, it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. By the tenth bite, she felt the reaction. She reacted quickly, eyes wide, startling the others as she grabbed the tea pot and practically poured its contents down her throat. Her face was flushed, and she was gasping for breath.

"What…the hell…is this?!" she glared at Po.

The panda smirked, "It's the same porridge that everyone else is having…only with some honey, ginseng, lemon, couple cloves of garlic…"

"_Garlic?"_

"And five crushed chili peppers," Po smiled.

Well, that explained her burning mouth. Surprisingly though, the cream-like honeyed porridge _did_ soothe her throat…and the ginger-chili pepper combination had certainly cleared up the nasal passages. "I…I can't believe that worked."

"What'd I tell ya? Works every time. So…" he looked around the table and smirked, "Shifu was a real horndog."

Monkey sputtered out laughing, quickly joined by everyone else; Tigress was having difficulty forcing back a smile.

"I was a little worried there," Mantis admitted. "I mean, not that there's anything wrong with being gay, or anything…"

"Glad to know he's straight, nonetheless," Crane said, letting out a sigh. "Again, not that there's anything wrong with that…Just makes it a little less awkward."

"Oh come on—does the idea of him being gay really make you guys _that_ uncomfortable?" Po asked.

He was met with dead silence. "Oh."

"Well, not exactly," Viper said. "I mean, yeah, we heard all those things about homosexuals, too. But, we've never met anyone who was…you know…"

"But Li was…is…I dunno," Po reasoned. "And we all like _him_ right?"

"In some ways, we're getting to know him like Shifu knew him," Crane began. "So, when you think about it, we're seeing Li as a person, like anyone else, and not as a homosexual…did that make any sense?" he asked, sounding a bit worried.

"Yeah, actually," Tigress said, still eating the special porridge. "It did. It seemed like Li didn't ask to be that way…"

"So, what're you saying?"

"I don't know!"

Po said, "Maybe he was born with it?"

"I highly doubt that you can inherit something like that from your parents." Mantis paused. "_Maybe_ a second cousin twice removed…"

"Huh?"

"I had some weird cousins."

Po rolled his eyes. This was guaranteed to be an awkward conversation no matter which way it went. Crane, wise as always, finally broke into another aspect of the conversation at hand. "Well, we know _now_ that Shifu is most certainly straight…but did Ochir ever find out?"

"How could he not?" Viper asked. "He was around them all the time, and its not like Li and Ren were hiding it very well."

"How would he react? Most rhinos I've had experience with…well, they aren't very understanding," Monkey emphasized. Everyone nodded darkly. "I guess there's hope he wasn't like his father at all…"

"One can hope," Mantis said. "But what about Jian Qiang and Miao Li? They were involved together?"

"That explains why Master didn't want us to date anyone," Viper sighed. "He must have wanted to avoid something like that from happening."

"Yeah, well," Mantis spoke up, "no offense to you ladies, but I'm perfectly okay with _never_ dating, or having kids…"

"Why's that?" Po asked. Viper leaned over and whispered in the panda's ear, then he blinked, "Seriously?"

She nodded. Po looked at Mantis. "Wow, it sucks to be you."

"Anyway," Crane continued, leading the conversation away from the mating habits of certain insects. "That last scroll raised a lot more questions. Like, who is this Zigsa guy, for one…"

"You think he's connected to Tai Lung, somehow?"

"Dunno. I also wonder how far Shifu and Song ever went?"

"Not far," Tigress said. "He's never mentioned her before."

"Maybe, if they did, they went south like Qiang and Miao Li?" Viper wondered.

Monkey sighed, reaching for the next scroll that he took out of the basket at his feet. "We won't know until we find out…"

* * *

It would have been more appropriate if the next morning had been tense like the air before a storm. Instead, we were all surprised to find Miao Li and Jian Qiang being civil to one another, and to my shock, Elder Brother was being nice to me as well. If this wasn't a bad omen, I didn't know what was.

Ochir, Li, Song and I could barely swallow our breakfast, we were so nervous. Song had an easier time hiding her emotions, but she was naturally gifted at that. Ochir's calm, straight-faced expression told me he was practically shaking on the inside. Li made no mystery of the state of his nerves at all. The bowl in his hand shook so much Master Jian Qiang needed to put his hand on the fox's arm to steady him. This did little to help, I noticed, because Li's defenses were instantly raised. Perhaps he suspected as I did that his old master knew his dreadful secret.

Oogway's eyes met mine across the table; I immediately looked away. He always had an uncanny knack for reading people, and I wasn't about to give my friend's secret away. It was Li's responsibility to talk to our master, not mine. And I wouldn't dream of giving him away like that; he trusted me, and I wasn't going to lose that trust.

Master Oogway bid us students to rise. We were to get down to the arena early, to warm up and prepare for the junior tournament.

The way the tournament was set up was relatively simple: the warriors already declared masters had their own day to fight, usually the first over a three day competition, and at the end of that day, the title of "Grand Master" would be awarded to the victor. Because Master Jian Qiang had been injured, Master Oogway dismissed us, so we missed the end of the competition to attend to his—and Miao Li's—wounds. We wouldn't find out until the third day who the "Grand Master" was.

The second day was devoted to the students of those masters, the ones their masters deemed worthy enough to prove their worth. Usually only one or two are chosen—Oogway had signed up all four of us. There were age restrictions of course. In the past, no one younger than sixteen was allowed; naturally, the lethally tragic tournament a decade before had this restriction. Since Manchuria, however, the rules had been changed to no one younger than thirteen, the official cut-off point between childhood and adolescence. To me, it seemed terribly convenient, but I doubted Oogway would have used his power in that way. But this was because the rules of the tournament had been changed so much for safety reasons that it enabled younger students to compete.

The rules were simple, honorable, things I eventually taught my own students: one, if you possess them, never use claws. Two, strikes to the head are to be avoided at all times, to prevent severe trauma. Three, never strike while your opponent is down; such a thing is dishonorable. Most of the rules were about duty and honor, and sportsmanlike conduct in general. Now, I will not deny that I had broken some of these rules while fighting in later battles, but sometimes one needs to look the other way in order to survive…

Over 200 warriors had come. A little over one half of that were actual masters. The rest of them were the students. So, there would be many matches taking place simultaneously, trickling down to one at a time as the day wore on and the finalists became clear.

I spied the chart that showed the scheduled fighters first. I was in the third place, after Ochir and Song, respectively, and I would be fighting someone named "Chang". I looked about at the other young faces—ages ranging from thirteen to twenty—and wondered who it could possibly be. The chart tapered off from the bottom as the names of the victors would be written in red ink, the losers in black, until the final four rounds, when names would be written in the top spots. I silently prayed to the ancestors I remembered, and any deities that were listening, that I at least made it to the top ten.

We took our seats around the perimeter of the arena, watching the first battles begin. Ochir was up first against a crocodile—it was no contest. Ochir won by a landslide. Across the arena I could hear Terbish hollering "That's my boy!" A depressing thought entered my mind—would my father cheer for me like that? I wouldn't mind so much if Oogway cheered for me, though I knew he wasn't the cheering type.

Song was next and as she took her position opposite a female antelope, Li nudged my shoulder, "You okay?"

I nodded, "I'll be fine, think."

"I'm really nervous," he confessed.

"Yeah, me too…"

Like Ochir, Song's battle was over very quickly. The antelope had to be carried off by the medics, Song whispering, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" the doe waving her off, saying things like "its okay, you won fairly" and things like that. Unfortunately, not every student was so humble and gracious.

I was up next. I sighed, standing and brushing off my short robe. All students wore white homespun clothes, and mine were no different. When I saw my opponent, I froze. He was a tiger. A _big_ tiger. He looked as surprised to see me as his opponent as I was to see him. He turned to the referee, "Are you _sure_ this is the kid I'm fighting?"

The referee nodded, "You _are_ Fu, student of Grand Master Oogway, right?" he confirmed.

"Y-yes, I am," I said, doubting my ability to speak. My first battle was against _a tiger_? I looked over at Oogway, who only smiled at me, winking once. He held up his hand, index claw and thumb an inch or so away from touching each other. I understood.

We bowed to Oogway, and then to each other.

The referee explained the rules: "Nothing below the belt, no head wounds…" and a whole slew of others to ensure our safety. "You have three strikes. The first person to make three confirmed strikes on their opponent wins. Understood?"

"Yes sir," we both said.

"I won't go easy on you," he said.

"I don't expect you to," I said.

With the dropping of a white flag, our match began. I ducked as he threw a punch, flipping back, then somersaulting forward to avoid his other strikes. I slid between his legs as he punched straight into the ground where I had been standing just seconds prior. Okay, he was fast. I just needed to be faster.

He punched down, his fist landing between my feet, and I struck my first blow with a firm uppercut. Strike one. He staggered back, but quickly got back up and came at me again. People were yelling at me, but I couldn't hear them; I was too focused on what I was doing.

His leg collided with my side, sending me flying a short distance. I inwardly cursed, it was his first strike. I was not going to lose this early in the game. I followed his movements, monitoring his habits, and learned quickly he would bite his lip before attacking. Most fighters don't realize how an expressive face can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

He struck me again in the shoulder. Strike two for him. He jumped high into the air, ready to bring his foot down on top of me. I jumped out of the way just in time, jumping away to avoid his strikes. He was utterly ferocious, and I was starting to think I could very well lose. I ducked between his legs again, leapt up and swung a roundhouse kick into his shoulder, knocking him to his knees. When I landed, I had very little time to catch my breath. I needed to take him down, and fast.

I heard my father yelling, Second Brother and Uncle joining in. "Take him down, Fu!" "C'mon, _get him!_" "You can do it, son!"

That's when it hit me. The bath!

I swung my leg out, and the tiger blocked it. Before his fist collided with my chest, I forced myself up, quickly running along his arm like I had run along the rafters of my childhood home, then flipped over his head.

I heard him coming after me, and just before he struck, I crouched down low and leapt high into the air. Below me, he looked perplexed, until I fell back to earth, delivering a swift kick in the middle of his back.

He fell, and the crowd roared. I had won. The referee lifted my arm to signal victory as I struggled to catch my breath. The tiger slowly got up; I bowed to him, and he bowed back, sighing with defeat.

I just nodded and walked off the arena floor, joining Song and Ochir. The latter punched my arm, "_That's_ what I'm talking about!"

* * *

The day progressed quickly, and before long it was well after the lunchtime hour. Though tired, neither of us ate much, opting instead for something called "trail cakes" that Master Oogway gave us when we went on long hikes for training. I nibbled on mine from time to time while I rested between battles. By midday, most of the students had been eliminated, and now we were in the semi-finals with 50 of us to go.

Ochir was consistent in his victories, but also his style. He at least listened when I warned him of later opponents catching on to his tactics. "Don't worry so much. I'll switch it up depending on who I fight."

Many of the male students by now had seen what Song was capable of, and while the first few she faced had laughed at her for being a girl, the rest learned from the unfortunate ones' mistakes. When Song's next opponent was announced, I watched a pale-faced boar meet her on the arena floor. Ten seconds later, Ochir and I dodged as the boar was thrown in our general area.

"Song's kickin' ass today," Ochir smirked.

"Good," I smiled, taking a drink of water. "How's Li doing?"

Ochir nodded over to the far corner, "Holding his own. After this last round, we start using weapons."

This was also a safety concern. Oogway was resolute against any child getting hurt in this competition. Apparently, in Manchuria, a good third of the dead were youngsters just like us. Starting with unarmed combat early on was to ensure the less experienced weren't seriously wounded or killed. The more skillful—usually older—students were the ones to make it to the final rounds.

Ochir suddenly gasped, shaking me. "I don't believe it!"

"What? What?" I asked. Then I saw.

Zigsa.

"What the…?"

"He's too old to be fighting in this part!" Ochir hissed, "What is he doing?"

A defeated gorilla sitting close to us with an arm in a sling explained, "Don't you guys know? He's nineteen."

Our jaws dropped. Zigsa…the warrior who had beaten—and nearly killed—Master Jian Qiang…wasn't even a master yet? He was _nineteen years old?!_

"He looks older."

"It's 'cause he's bigger," a crocodile nearby said. "I didn't think it was fair to hit a blind guy…" he pointed to his black eye and multiple bruises on his upper body, "You can see how that worked out."

"So he's legal to fight in this round?"

"But how was it legal for him to fight _yesterday_?" Ochir asked. "He should have been disqualified for that. And didn't he withdraw?"

"Technically he's old enough to fight in both," an antelope said. "And he withdrew from the adult competition. But he's really close to being named a master."

"He might as _well_ be!" the croc continued. "Did you hear about that peasant uprising he quelled? He didn't even raise a finger, they were so scared!"

"That's not what I heard," a frog said. "I heard he was _behind_ the uprising, against a cruel, corrupt magistrate."

"Truth is," a smart-looking young lion said. "No one really knows _who_ he is, or what he does. No one really knows how he became blind, or why he fights injustice…he's just a living legend, I guess."

"You all fought him, didn't you?" Ochir deadpanned.

They all nodded.

This new information was both exhilarating and troubling to me. Who was this Zigsa, and what did he truly stand for?

His battle ended around the same time Song and Li's did. In no time at all, with the next battles Ochir and I fought, the competition was down to twenty-five. The defeated students went to join their masters in the stands. We four students of Master Oogway were still in the running for the title of "Junior Master". The winner wouldn't really be a master, of course. It was just an honorary title that was carried until a new winner was announced the next year.

It was time to choose our weapons. Ochir picked up a mace, Li his quiver and bow with a knife in his belt, and Song chose her favored _pudao_. As for me, I picked up a simple staff. A few of the others laughed at me, but my friends didn't. Li smirked and Ochir tried hard not to laugh at the irony, whispering to me, "They'll figure it out sooner or later…"

And figure it out they did. I faced opponents that had chosen swords, spears, and various other dangerous weapons, and yet I still defeated them with just a wooden staff three times my height. I became so focused on actually _surviving_ these fights that it mattered very little what the crowd was doing.

The sour-looking crocodile I had just defeated limped out of the arena and straight to a waiting medic. I paused for breath, moving to take my seat on the opposite side. It was mid-afternoon, and it had become so unbearably hot, Palace attendants had to raise a large tarp to cover the arena so the fighters and the audience could keep cool. There were multiple holes punched through, for wind resistance, I found, and a wide hole open in the middle, providing a natural spotlight in the middle of the floor. But it was still hot. When I got back to my seat, I tore my outer robe off, not caring who saw me bare-chested.

Song suddenly landed at my feet, startling me. She growled, grabbed my shirt and threw it in my face. "Put it back on!" she yelled, then returned to her fight. Well, I was perplexed, of course, but did as she asked, despite how overheated I was becoming, until her fight was over. She sat next to me, yanking the robe off my shoulders and handing me the ladle-full of cool water. She drank hers down quickly, gasping after. "That last one was tough."

"You've got two battles to wait through, you'll get your second wind," I said. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine…"

"She got in a lucky shot," I said, nodding to the disqualified opponent, a tall white tigress. Song snorted, then she shrugged, glancing at me, "I just got a little distracted…"

Today, I am fully aware of what she meant then. At that moment, I was still too focused on the fights ahead—and surviving until sunset—to wonder if there was a double meaning. "How's Ochir doing?"

"YEAAGHH!!" We heard an agonized cry from across the arena.

"I'd say he's doing pretty well," she quipped, after his opponent hit the ground with a loud thud. Ochir came over a minute later, shedding his outer layer, mirroring me.

"You look confident," I said.

"That last one was tough," he panted, sucking down water. "It was hard to get a read on him…"

"Snakes are supposed to be quick. It's a wonder he didn't bite you," Song said worriedly.

"I didn't get too worried—training with smaller creatures kinda helps me fight them easier you know?" he winked. "Which one of us is next?"

"Li," I said, pointing to the large chart. Ochir's name was being written as a winner as we spoke. There were three more rounds. I realized to my shock that I had achieved what I had prayed for: I made the top ten. If I didn't go any further, I would be happy.

"Oh no!" Song gasped.

"What?"

She pointed at the name of Li's next opponent. I felt my heart stop. His next opponent was Ren.

Ochir, not knowing why we looked so distressed, let out a long, appreciative whistle, "That'll be a good—holy crap!"

"What?!"

He just pointed and I winced—so did the rest of the crowd. Zigsa had been fighting against a tiger, and the tiger had jumped up into the air, taking advantage of the snow leopard's disability, and savagely slashed his claws over his face.

"HOLD!"

We all flinched, wondering who had yelled. To our amazement, it was Master Oogway. I spied the tiger's visage paling as Zigsa covered his bleeding face with his large hands. The look on Oogway's face was frightening; we had not seen him so displeased since…well, we couldn't quite remember.

"For the use of claws," he began, "…disqualified."

"What?!" the tiger roared.

Zigsa wasn't backing down just yet. He snarled, jumping up in retaliation, and let out a ferocious roar. Stunning every witness, he pounded the unfortunate tiger so hard into the ground that a crater formed around his broken body.

Song covered her mouth in horror. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Oogway's face was grim, he sighed and said to Zigsa, "Also disqualified."

Zigsa didn't contest this. He simply bowed to my master, sheathing his claws. There was blood on them.

"Gods in heaven…" Song gaped.

"That guy's more dangerous than a flame next to a powder keg," Ochir said. "He's almost killed two people in as many days! How'd he even get _accepted_ here?"

I couldn't even begin to say. I was only mildly aware that Li and Ren's battle was beginning as I watched Zigsa be bandaged up by medics not too far away. He must have sensed my eyes on him, because he turned his face in my direction.

Song directed my gaze to the chart. "Just eight left. The four of us, Li, Ren, and two others…whoever wins that other battle goes up against Ochir in the second round."

"What about Li and Ren?"

"Whoever wins that one goes up against me, then whoever wins _that_ goes up against you. After that…it's the final round."

We were all so very close. I had no doubt in my mind that Li was capable of great things, but close combat with a bow and arrow was difficult, if not impossible. Ren was equipped with a saber, and eyeing down his opponent.

I had full confidence in Li's abilities as a warrior. What concerned me was whether or not he'd be able to fight his crush.

Song seemed to be having similar worries, and it was our hope Ochir wouldn't notice. Though certainly more open-minded than his father, we weren't sure he could be trusted to keep his composure if—or when—he learned Li's secret. I wanted to believe it would be alright, but I secretly feared that he would do something unforgivable if we allowed it. For now, we would have to keep it a secret until we knew more.

Out on the arena floor, it was just Li and Ren now, the former biting his lip in nervousness, the latter breathing deeply, doubt flooding his features. Would they both be able to fight this? Or would they both forfeit? I chastised myself for thinking that.

No, if they forfeit, they would have to give a valid reason. And how well would "because I'm in love with him" go over? They _had_ to fight each other, and either one of them would throw the match, or they would fight hard until it became too violent for words.

So, yes, we were only _slightly_ worried.

Too soon, the gong sounded, and the match began.

* * *

Much like the violent fight between Jian Qiang and Zigsa, the two began by circling each other. Li's ears were pressed to his skull, eyes narrowed as he scrutinized his opponent, but I could see the worry there. His hands, poised to take up either the knife or the bow, were shaking; Ren's hand shook as well, one holding onto the sheath, the other poised to draw. I saw the look in Li's eyes as he came to a decision.

He started performing the kung fu forms we'd learned as children.

_Had he lost his mind?_ This seemed to be the question on everyone's lips as the crowd started murmuring. Song, Ochir and I shared a look between us; at the judges table, even Master Oogway appeared curious as to the fox's plan.

Li got as far into the forms as the straight punch to the side, arching his arms in an arc over his head, and slapping a palm onto the ground when he made a move. It was so quick, the collective gasp of the crowd was at least ten seconds too late.

He twirled horizontally in mid-air, drawing an arrow from his quiver and firing off before landing in a crouch.

Ren's eyes widened and he unsheathed his sword just in time to deflect the arrow. Li was relentless, drawing another arrow while dodging Ren's attacks. The fox tripped the wolf with his bow, sticking the arrow between his teeth and drawing his knife to block the sword. Ren kicked Li's legs out from under him, the fox twisting his body until he fell into a split. The wolf wasted no time and swung the sword down, Li catching it at the hilt with his knife. He twisted his wrist just so, locking the hilts together and with a loud yell, yanked Ren off his feet and throwing him up over his head. The shock caused Ren to let go of the sword, and he fell a short distance away.

"Holy cow," Ochir said. "No offense, Yao," he muttered to the bull nearby who, stunned as we were, muttered a quick "none taken".

Li stood up, easily sliding into a simple battle stance. He threw the sword back to Ren, who caught it deftly. The dark grey wolf looked so flabbergasted I could swear he forgot to breathe. A quick glance to the judges table told me that Master Oogway just was as surprised as we were to see Li's skill. I smiled; all this time, Li had been holding back! But…why?

Li took the arrow from his mouth, and notched it to his bow. The fletch was between his index and middle fingers, those same fingers running up the eagle feather like a gentle caress. Ren seemed to notice this too, and visibly gulped. Li only needed to disarm him two more times before the match could be declared over.

Ren charged again, and Li back flipped high into the air, firing off one, two…three arrows in quick succession, while airborne! Ren barely dodged each one. Li landed and fired another; when Ren twisted his upper body to avoid it, the arrow flew right through the material of his sleeve.

The crowd gasped; _we_ gasped. Ren got over this quickly, swiping his blade—Li jumped up and landed on the flat edge of it, then swung his leg; the wolf ducked, which was what Li was counting on. The fox fell down, his foot colliding with the wolf's wrist, making him drop the sword again. Li kicked it up with the top of his foot and caught it in his free hand.

Our jaws dropped.

"Who's that fox, and what did he do with Li?" Song wondered. I was having similar thoughts.

Ren had just about had it, we could see. With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I realized throwing the match was the _last_ thing he'd ever do. He charged, catching Li off guard. The fox couldn't possibly attack his unarmed opponent! And he didn't; Ren had counted on that.

The wolf caught the fox's wrist, twisting it so sharply Li cried out, then flipped the fox over his shoulder. Ren caught the sword and swung it, coming in contact with Li's knife. Ren twisted sharply, and tore the knife right from Li's hands. Li rolled out of the way as the sword pierced the earth too close to where he had been lying. He drew another arrow, but was dismayed to find Ren kick both arrow and bow out of his grasp.

They were two for one.

Ren didn't wait for Li to recover. To combat the sword coming down on him, Li tore an arrow from his quiver and stabbed up, a desperate attempt to scare off his attacker. It startled the wolf, but he caught the fox's wrist and twisted it sharply, the rest of Li's body following. When Li hit the ground, so did the arrow, which Ren quickly stepped on, snapping it in half.

Two for two. The next disarmament would be the deciding blow.

I couldn't tell you how long Song had been gripping my hand like that, or how long ago I started to taste blood from biting down on my lip too hard, but the fight was over sooner than we expected.

Li kicked, sweeping Ren's legs from under him, the wolf twisting his body to avoid falling on his own sword, and landing hard on his back. Li made a dash for his bow, falling as Ren grabbed his ankle. Li was at an impasse. He couldn't kick Ren in the face—like in a real fight—or he'd be disqualified; but he wouldn't want to hurt him either!

He did the next best thing, taking a handful of dirt and throwing it in his opponent's face. The fox scrambled up, grasping the bow and drawing out his last arrow, aiming as Ren got to his feet and charged him.

But Li faltered. I knew deep in my heart that he would falter sometime during this battle. He needed to fire that arrow at the person he cared about…but how could he?

Ren performed a hook kick, tearing both bow and arrow from the fox's grasp, then took the bow and tackled Li to the ground. Li hit the floor facedown, gasping when the wooden part of the bow held up his chin; Ren was straddling the fox's back, pinning his arms to his sides. Li was completely immobilized; the match was over.

While the crowd cheered, neither Ren nor Li looked particularly happy. Ren slowly got up, helping Li to stand and handed him back his bow while Li picked up the wolf's sword and gave it to him. They looked into each other's faces, expressionless, then bowed to each other, then to the judges before leaving the floor.

Li slumped down into the seat next to Song; she wrapped an arm around him, hugging him, "You were _amazing_," she said proudly.

"Yeah, Li'l guy, how come you never told us you could do stuff like that?" Ochir asked with awe.

Li looked up at us, completely astounded. "Honestly? I didn't know I could do any of that stuff either." He sighed and looked out onto the arena, where Ren had his arm held up by the referee, the crowd cheering him. Master Jian Qiang looked proud.

Ren wasn't smiling at all.

* * *

In quick succession, the next few battles were a blur. Song was defeated, then her opponent later on. To my shock, I didn't even realize I had won the second-to-last battle until the referee grabbed my arm and held it high over my head. I smiled; all I had to do was fight Ochir in the final round.

But there was a bit of an upset…

"What do you mean, you lost?!" I shouted, my voice rising a few octaves in panic.

Ochir was nursing an injured shoulder and elbow, which a medic was putting into a sling. "The guy was too strong, and too fast, I couldn't keep up!"

"What guy?"

Ochir pointed over my shoulder; I turned to look, and my jaw dropped.

He was a gorilla…a _big_ gorilla. He was bigger than the tiger I had faced in my first match. He had to be at least six feet tall, perhaps outweighing Ochir by 200 pounds and me by nearly 800 pounds of _pure muscle_. There wasn't a single ounce of fat on his body. His fists were bigger than his head, his legs short, but terrifyingly muscular. And though he didn't look too bright, he had a certain meanness in his face that I didn't place until he saw me, grinned maliciously, and slammed his fist into his open palm.

My eye started to twitch again. "I am going to die."

"Don't think like that," Song shushed. "You've taken on Ochir before, this is nothing!"

"Song, he's wearing gauntlets with _spikes_ in them. _Spikes!_" I emphasized. "One punch from that guy and I'm done!"

"Fu, come on, you can do this," she said. "Remember, you're small, but you're smart. Use his weaknesses and his strengths against him!"

"How?!"

Too late, the referee was calling us out into the middle of the floor. I grasped my staff, realizing my palms were clammy, and my legs shaking. I couldn't do this…he'd snap me like a twig…

Twig. Branch. Tree.

I took a deep breath and walked out onto the floor, standing opposite the ape that had four or five feet on me. Yet I was oddly confident. He sneered down at me, not even bothering with a battle stance, wielding his spiked mace menacingly.

And I was standing there with a stick.

I don't think anyone expected me to win that fight. I could be wrong.

The gong sounded, and the gorilla roared, "You're goin' _down_, small fry!"

"Small fry?" I asked. "That's it, that's all you've got? Come on, try being a _little_ more creative…"

He growled and slammed his mace into the ground in front of my feet. I jumped out of the way, twirling my staff in one hand. I dropped into a low lunge, ready for his next move.

"You gonna fight me today, kid?" he asked. "Or are ya gonna run away like a little girl?"

"If it weren't for that tiger over there, you _would_ be fighting a girl," I said. "And she'd kick your butt faster than I ever could."

"You sure like to talk, doncha?"

"This is nothing; I could talk your ear off if we were having an intelligent conversation."

He glared after the insult registered and raised his mace again. I jumped out of the way, standing on the top of my staff. He kicked at the bottom of it. With a flick of my toes, the staff turned like a windmill, hitting him hard on the shoulder, shocking him enough to drop his mace onto his foot.

When I landed back on the still-standing staff, he was howling in pain. I just sat on top of my staff as if I were meditating. Leaning my chin on my palm, I remarked, "Well, that could've gone better for you."

He growled and struck out. I jumped down, back-flipping and sliding a few feet away upon my landing. He struck up with an open palm, tearing my staff out of my grip. I jumped, using his open palm for leverage, grabbed my staff again and swung, hitting his arm hard enough to make him drop the mace again.

When I landed, I was panting, but not expecting the next blow. He had picked up the mace again and slammed it into my side. The crowd gasped in horror as I was flung back, my back hitting a pillar and sliding down to hit the ground. I could feel hot blood seeping out of the wounds in my side that the spikes had given me. This gorilla was deadly serious about winning.

I couldn't wait any longer. I needed to use my wood personality to defeat him. But I couldn't move.

The crowd was silent, and I could vaguely hear heavy footsteps on the ground. I stayed where I was, waiting, waiting for him to get closer…

He raised his mace over his head, letting out a roar.

I struck.

As if coming back from the dead, I kicked at his ankles, uprooting him. His massive body fell on top of me, nearly crushing me. Judging by the crowd's collective gasp and the sound of metal hitting the floor, he had dropped his mace. But I wasn't done yet.

Medics were called for, but I wasn't giving them a chance to perform their job yet. I know Oogway had taught me how to use my weaknesses as my strength, and to use my opponent's strength against them. I used every ounce of strength I had left, and pushed up on the body. I wish I could have seen that stupid ape's face when I lifted him off the ground.

Then I twirled him in midair like my staff, then with a flick of my wrist, I threw him down onto the arena floor. Jumping onto his back, I leaned forward, grabbing him by the nostrils and yanking back, yet still the fool had the gall to say, "You're still goin' down, small fry…"

That did it. I was not letting him have the last word: "My name is 'Fu'."

I yanked up hard, flipping him up off the ground and high into the air. I jumped up, delivering a roundhouse kick along with a loud battle cry, and kicked so hard, he flew outwards, slamming open the vermillion double doors, and falling down the thousand steps down into the valley. The doors leaned on their hinges, looking ready to fall off, and his agonized screams could still be heard as he fell, probably bouncing off the stairs.

I was panting, exhausted, holding my side and wincing. My vision got a little blurry, but I didn't care. It was clear from the cheers that I had won.

Wait. I had won?

"Holy…"

I had won!

The referee held up my arm, and the crowd cheered louder. I was absolutely dazed, but I smiled when I heard my friends' cheers.

"YEAH FU!" Ochir bellowed.

"You did it! You did it!" Song was jumping up and down.

"That's what I'm _talkin'_ about, warrior!" Li screamed, cupping his hands around his maw.

Then I heard something that almost made me cry. My father, rushing out into the arena to my side, yelling over the cheers, "This is my boy! This warrior is _my_ son!"

He held me up, and I smiled at him, "Thanks, Baba."

He ruffled the fur on the top of my head, grinning widely, "We're so proud of you, son. Come on, let's get you that prize…" he finished, helping me walk to the judge's table. But my vision was quickly becoming more and more blurry. I faltered in my steps, and I felt both overheated and dizzy. All I could hear was my father asking if I was all right, and Master Oogway calling out my name: "Fu!"

I blacked out.

* * *

I came to many hours later, lying on my back in my room. The air was thick with incense, and I groaned weakly. Someone's hand rested on my chest and I opened my eyes to find Master Oogway sitting by my side.

"Welcome back," he said with a beatific smile. "We were worried about you."

I tried raising my arms to greet him properly, but they hurt too much to move. One arm was in a sling, that shoulder bandaged as well. "How long have I been…?"

"Oh, a few hours at least. Everyone missed you at dinner, so I thought I'd bring you something." He noted a bowl of broth and plain brown rice mixed with pickled vegetables. He helped me to sit up, and gradually my strength came back to me as I ate.

"Master?" I asked after finishing the broth. "What happened?"

"You fainted," he said simply. "Probably a combination of your wounds, exhaustion, the day's heat, and not eating enough during the course of the day," he gave me a look.

I lowered my ears in shame, "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be, Small One. You performed marvelously today. I admit, I was quite worried to see who your final opponent was. I hope you can forgive me, but I had my doubts that you would win."

"Master," I replied, "How can I forgive when there's nothing _to_ forgive? I doubted myself…"

"Yet you won."

I smiled, pointing to my bedside table. The acorn he had given me all those years ago was still sitting there. "I remembered the oak tree and the acorn."

"So you did. You also gave him the hardest kick I've ever seen from you," he chuckled. "And lifting him up like that—many masters complimented me on teaching you how to do that. But in truth I never did. You learned it from the scrolls."

"But you tutored me on those scrolls, Master. I don't think I could have remembered them…I don't know where that last burst came from. It was like…instinct, I guess," I shrugged, wincing and pressing my hand against my bandaged side.

"And it was your instinct that saved your life. Tiny and…"

"Who?" I interrupted.

"The warrior you fought. His name was Tiny."

My eye began to twitch again, "I battled a guy five feet taller and 800 pounds heavier than me…and his name is _Tiny_?"

Oogway just chuckled. "I thought you'd appreciate the irony of a 'tiny' 800 pound gorilla getting his tail handed to him by a two-foot-five-inch tall, 30-pound red panda," he winked. "It may also interest you to know that he and his master have been disgraced; they are barred from this tournament for life."

"Isn't that a little harsh?"

"Not when one of my students could have been killed."

I sighed tiredly and tried eating the rice and pickles. He could sense I was tired and calmly took the bowl from me when I had my fill. "That is enough for now…"

"Master, if I may ask…who is Zigsa?"

He sighed, patting my shoulder. "That's for another day. In the meantime…" he pulled out a shining jade medallion on a leather thong, and put it around my neck. "Wear your prize with pride. You earned it."

* * *

Just figured I should mention: "Zigsa" is a Tibetan name meaning (wait for it)...snow leopard. No joke. I saw it and I knew I HAD to use it. Why? Why not? God, I'm such a geek...

Anyway, please read and review!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Dun own it. Own the OCs and blah blah blah…

I must be out of my mind posting this so soon after surgery. Granted, it was routine (four wisdom teeth _simultaneously_), I don't remember it happening, and no, I didn't keep the teeth (ew), but one would think I should rest after surgery, right? Wrong. This chapter is not as action-packed or heartfelt as previous chapters, but cut me a break, I was on codeine and 800 mg of ibuprofen for the majority of this past week. So before I go off to enjoy my watery oatmeal and cherry Jell-O, the meal of champions, I should send a warning of a strong T rating this chapter for language!

As for the people I am beta-reading for: I'm working on it, honest to God, I am!

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

* * *

Chapter 7

* * *

They took a break for a short lunch, Viper brewing a special medicinal tea for the very sick tiger, Po giving her an endless supply of noodle soup.

"You give me one more bowl of noodle soup and I'm going to be sick," Tigress warned.

"It's going to make you feel better," he said tensely, trying to force a smile.

"Not if my stomach's churning so much from eating the same thing over and over again."

"Quit complaining," Mantis said. "The soup's good, and he's taking good care of you."

"He doesn't need to wait on me hand and foot," she growled, then sneezed into the handkerchief Viper had given her. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself…"

"Yuh-huh, which explains over-extending yourself last night," Po muttered. She heard him.

"At least I have enough discipline to actually _continue_ to train!"

"You sayin' I'm not disciplined?" Po looked over at her.

"What do you think I'm saying, _panda_?" she glared.

"Okay, just _what_ is your deal?!" he asked, suddenly losing his temper. "You were nasty to me from day one, and once I think you're starting to actually be _nice_ to me, you pull something like this! I thought you at least respected me!"

"I respect you, but that doesn't mean I have to _like_ you!"

"Look, I didn't even _want_ the Dragon Scroll, okay?!" the panda said, standing and pointing at her. "But I got it anyway and you need to accept that!"

"This isn't about that damned scroll!" she yelled, standing and getting in his face. "This is about you treating everything like a damn joke!"

"At least I _can_ joke," he shot back. "I can count the number of times I've seen you smile on _one_ hand!"

"I don't need you giving me a lecture! You may be the Dragon Warrior, but that does _not_ give you the right to—"

"Will you two _shut up_?!" Viper suddenly snapped, shocking both out of their shouting match.

"Honestly," Crane rolled his eyes, "You two fight like an old married couple."

"We do not!" Po and Tigress snapped at the same time. They sent a glare to each other, then skulked off to opposite ends of the room, Po grumbling about "just trying to help" and Tigress griping "stupid, holier-than-thou…"

"Are you done?" Viper asked as Tigress sat in the corner near the fireplace. She sniffled and crossed her arms, still looking angry. Po was sitting next to Mantis and Crane, taking deep breaths to calm himself down.

Monkey sighed, shaking his head and picking up the next scroll.

* * *

I awoke the next morning, sore and feeling like I had been hit with a boulder. Then I remembered the match I had won, and realized this wasn't far from the truth. My family all crowded around me, congratulating me on my win. My friends came by after I had awoken, giving me similar compliments. I noticed Li seemed to be in better spirits, which made me glad.

"You okay?" I asked.

"I think I'm supposed to be asking _you_ that," he joked.

I winced as I tried to sit up a little more, "I've had worse, I gotta say."

"That's because you don't know when to quit," Song said tartly, arms crossed over her chest. "You just keep going until you're exhausted, and if you don't change your ways you're going to put yourself in real danger…"

"Thanks, Mom," I muttered. She heard me and gave me a well-earned smack. Ochir just laughed.

"Come on, small fry, time to get to the festival," he said, moving to pick me up…bridal style. Naturally, I opposed him.

"Hold it!" I said. "Come on, there has to be a more dignified way to move me around…"

"Are you saying you _want_ to be carried in a palanquin?"

"Excuse me?" I made a face; carried around like some rich person who couldn't be bothered to walk? Was he serious? I shook my head. "I can walk."

"You'll be crying in pain in five minutes," the rhino said.

"Don't care, I'm tough, I can handle it." I stood up, made it five steps to the door before Song made her point by poking me in my injured side. Well, I didn't think I could let out an agonized cry that loud, and it took every effort to keep from letting loose a string of four-letter words.

"So you're tough, huh?" she eyed me.

I whimpered—yes, whimpered—and looked back at Ochir. "Fine, carry me."

"There's no shame in riding in a palanquin," Song said.

"And be treated like I'm better than everyone else? No way, I'd rather be walking with you guys."

Looking back, I realized why they looked so touched. They had all made it to the top ten, and surely thought their victory and the title was as good as theirs. I expected jealousy, but that was the best answer I could have given. It meant that title or no title, I was still the same Fu.

Ochir smirked and bent down to pick me up. "Alright, warrior, if you insist."

* * *

The third day of the tournament was usually supposed to be a fight between the "Grand Master" and "Junior Master". But because I was too injured to even walk unaided, Oogway had instead called for a festival in honor of the tournament's return. I was thankful for that; I didn't think I could handle facing a master after what I'd been through.

Ochir led us down the steps, me balancing on his broad shoulders while Li and Song followed behind us. Those two were embroiled in a whispered discussion, which sounded more like Song berating him for something. I could tell what it was about: it had to be about Ren. I overheard something about "Oogway" and "the truth" and Li's instantaneous objection. Ochir, however, heard the whisperings and called back, "Hey guys, be cool. We're supposed to be celebrating today, alright?"

And celebrate we did. We donned the red clothes we wore for New Year and other such festivals and entered the village to find it awash in red and gold, firecrackers popping in alleys and children running around and playing. It was like New Year, Market Day, and ten other festivals combined into one. The entire village was teeming with locals and warriors alike. To my amazement, bitter rivals from the two previous days were walking side-by-side as friends, or sitting enjoying tea, wine, or bowls of noodles.

Ochir spotted an opponent from the day before and waved, the ox, Yao, sending a smile and waving back. Song greeted the female antelope she had defeated in the first round, and before long both girls were giggling and gossiping like old friends.

Ochir set me down on a bench and Li sat next to me to give me company. "You hungry?"

"Not yet," I said, wincing as I felt my side. The injured shoulder was bare, my arm still in a sling, but I still wore my red robe. I didn't mind too much. A number of people stopped by to congratulate me on my impressive win, many were masters who had once trained under Oogway, exclaiming they had never seen such a battle before.

"Never would've believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes…" said one.

"Amazing, simply amazing!" a frog master said.

A dog at the next table offered to buy me a drink, which I declined, saying I was too young.

An elephant gently slapped a wide hoof to my uninjured shoulder, "I never expected such a spectacle from one so young, and so small!"

"That's our Fu," Li said proudly. "Of the four of us, I think he'll be the greatest master in all China someday…"

"I'd believe it." Li and I froze; we recognized that voice. We turned to our left and saw Zigsa walking into the courtyard of the inn, his white staff tapping on the ground in front of him. The crowd moved aside for him, a lion helping him to a seat. "Thank you. So, Fu, was it? Very impressive yesterday. Someone had to describe to me what you did to that gorilla—small like a firecracker indeed."

I tried not to be too uncomfortable. Despite how nice he had been to me and my friends, I still remembered the stories about the Snow Cat Gods of Death. Not to mention, his temper was one unmatched. My mind flashed back to his bloodied claws the day before. He held out a large hand and felt my face and Li's.

"Ah-hah, I thought that might be your fox friend."

"Is there something we can help you with?" Li said levelly. He appeared to distrust him as much as I did. Zigsa picked up on that immediately.

"Easy, fox. I'm a lover not a fighter."

"Could've fooled me," my friend said. The snow leopard shook his head, "You mean yesterday? That was all in the name of justice."

"You got your justice," Li said, narrowing his eyes. "He was disqualified."

"But did he learn his lesson? Being disqualified doesn't mean anything if you don't care about _why_ you were disqualified."

"So he took advantage of you being blind," my vulpine friend said. "That gives you no right to send him to a hospital."

Zigsa sighed, his face turned towards Li's. "If you knew the things I experienced, the things I've been through, this would make sense. Was I right to strike him down like that, probably not. Did he deserve it, absolutely." He paused, then offered his hand out to me, "I believe I promised you dinner."

"You promised nothing," I said. "You offered, but we never accepted."

Zigsa chuckled, "So you didn't. Then may I offer to pay for your lunch? You must be hungry."

"Not really."

He was not deterred, "Please, I insist."

"And we insist—" Li said. Zigsa cut him off, grasping his wrist and hissing, "Give me the benefit of a doubt."

"We have no reason to."

"I am _not_ going to hurt you," he said. "I just want to talk. Is that so much to ask?"

I put my hand on Li's shoulder. "Fine, we accept. But this is on our terms."

The snow leopard nodded. "As you wish."

* * *

As much as Zigsa insisted on dining at the inn he was staying in, Li and I made the executive decision to eat at the noodle shop run by the kindly goose. It had quickly become a treat to go there; the goose's son was much younger than us (and oddly felt that noodles weren't his thing—he wanted to run away to make tofu, of all things), but nonetheless he was a real chatterbox. His father had to banish him indoors in order to serve us. The poor bird was happy to see us, but rather nervous to see the huge snow leopard in his establishment. As soon as we were served, he disappeared behind his counter.

"So, you wanted to talk," I said, sipping broth, "Let's talk."

"Alright," Zigsa said, picking up noodles effortlessly in his chopsticks. He slurped them, chewed, then began, "I've heard the legends about my kind—let me assure you there's nothing otherworldly about us. We just like living on the mountain. Its quiet, a laid-back lifestyle, just the way we like it. No one bothers us, except for the odd traveler who strayed too far from the beaten path…" he looked apologetic. "They don't last long."

"No kidding," Li said under his breath. If the snow leopard heard him, he ignored him.

"Usually we don't get sick—it's too cold up there for disease to reach us. Supposedly when I was younger, a traveler made it up to our village, and he infected all of us. My entire family died; I barely survived the plague, and while I did, it made me blind. I was six years old."

I'd heard about that plague. That was another reason why outsiders were so feared in my natal village. You had no idea where they had been, and what they could have been bringing with them. I felt pity for him; he hadn't deserved such a fate, and so young at that.

"I was the only one in my family to survive. Both grandparents, my father, my mother, and three older siblings were gone within a week. I thought my life was over; the villagers cast me out because they feared an evil spirit had taken over me. Word traveled pretty fast, and soon, no one would take me in; they thought I was cursed. I wandered down that mountain until I literally ran into Master Red Claw…"

Our ears perked up. Master Red Claw? He had been trained by _the_ Master Red Claw?! Now we knew how he became so powerful! Red Claw had been a student of Master Oogway, and once becoming a master, had heard of the plight of peasants living along the northern border. They faced daily attacks by Huns and Manchu rebels. Ever the bleeding heart, the tiger (a Manchurian tiger, ironically enough) set out for the northern borders, many believing it was a suicide mission.

Red Claw quickly became infamous for, you guessed it, his blood-red claws. Harsh? Undoubtedly, but one couldn't deny his methods were ineffective. While he was still in his prime, not a single Hun or Manchu _dared_ enter Chinese territory. Their fear of a kung fu master defeating and slaughtering them all was unmatched until Master Jian Qiang took over the post twenty years prior, after Red Claw retired.

Apparently, he took on students in his retirement.

Zigsa smiled fondly. "He took mercy on me, I think; I expected to be nothing more than a servant to him and his students. As you can see, that didn't happen. He told me that though I was blind, my life was not over. 'Focus your energy on becoming stronger,' he said. 'You may not be able to see with your eyes, but you have four other senses, don't you?'

"As I grew up, I noticed my hearing improved so much that I could hear someone's footsteps from a half-mile away, and a bird flapping its wings in a forest. My sense of touch improved, and so did my sense of smell, and taste too…though I'd lost one of the five senses, the others strengthened." The snow leopard sighed, "I owe him everything."

"So he taught by Master Oogway's methods?" Li asked. "Then why were you so…"

"What, savage? Because Master Red Claw may have taught me the _basics_ as he learned from Master Oogway, but the rest of my training revolved around helping those who couldn't help themselves. His style was meant for defending the soft and weak from the hard and strong, and suited to fighting barbarians. Apparently I was a fast learner. Five years ago, he turned me loose on a rouge band of Huns…well, none ever returned."

We stayed silent for a moment, and Li clearly doubted his methods. "What good is killing going to do? Killing is not justice, and violence never solved anything. Diplomacy is what saves lives, war takes them away."

"You don't understand," he argued, "Huns and rogues _do not_ reason with anyone. All they understand is violence, and if that's how it must be, what else can be done but respond in kind?"

I shook my head, "Master Oogway would never allow that kind of thinking…"

"You two are, what, fourteen, fifteen?"

"Fourteen, both of us," I answered. He nodded, "You're young, yet, too young to understand. Kung fu is not perfect—people _will_ die from it. There's nothing that can be done about it. My hope is that you will face off against enemies that are afraid to die. I have no problem with killing Huns, because they are _not_ afraid to die. If they want it so bad, who am I to stand in their way?"

"That sounds like something a Hun would say," Li challenged.

Zigsa's face hardened, but he took a deep breath, "If and when you have to fight Huns yourself," he warned, "You will see what I mean."

"If you have no problem with killing, then why did you freak out when you struck Master Qiang?" I asked.

Zigsa closed his eyes, "I don't mind killing those who deserve it. I disliked his methods in his defeat of Miao Li, and I thought if I only defeated him just as he defeated her, he'd feel sorry about it. I meant to hit his side, the middle of the rib cage, but I miscalculated. I never meant to hurt him; I was weak and made a terrible mistake."

Li didn't appear to buy that answer, and as much as I knew I shouldn't, I trusted the snow leopard. I thought he was being honest. I didn't know that there was more to it than he was willing to say.

"But you left, going around the Empire seeking to right all wrongs, and bring justice where there was injustice," I said, quickly turning the conversation from the choppy waters we were entering.

Zigsa half-smiled, "So you heard of that, eh? I'm afraid it's not as romantic as it sounds. I show up at a village—any village—and someone tells me of something I feel is morally wrong, like a magistrate overtaxing his people, or a general abusing his power, and I fight it. Sometimes it's little more than a misunderstanding and is easily resolved…other times…"

"Don't say it, we got it," I said quickly. I was feeling more and more uncomfortable with this conversation.

Luckily, it was cut short from the yelling we heard outside. "What in the seven hells is that?" Zigsa swore.

Li hopped up and rushed to the gateway, his eyes wide. "It's Ochir and his dad!"

"Oh no…" I murmured. Zigsa and I swiveled our ears to hear better, and we instantly regretted it. Terbish was merciless, blaming his son for losing the title to a 'weak little pipsqueak' and 'sorry excuse for a warrior'. While that cut deeply, I heard Ochir snap back,

"Fu is _not_ weak, and I don't care if you _are_ my old man, if you ever insult him again I'll take you out!"

"How dare you talk back to me like that! After all I did for you, this is how you thank me, you worthless little…"

"Worthless?! I'm your _only_ son, so you disown me, then where are you? You take back everything you said, right now!"

"Over my dead body!" Terbish snorted. "First you shy away from battle, then you hold back in a fight, and now you think you have the gall to lecture me?! I should've known you were a weak little pansy, just like your moth—"

Ochir didn't let him finish. Though we couldn't see it, Li, Zigsa and I winced when we heard the younger rhino give one of the hardest punches we'd ever heard him throw. The sound of cracking wood and crumbling brick told us what happened to Terbish. Then Ochir's voice rang over the crowd,

"I deliberate before I attack; that's not weakness, that's using my head. I hold back, I know; I just K.O.'d _you_, so what do you think I'd do to someone smaller than me? You think I'm stupid, that I haven't learned a damn thing—you're wrong. I learned things you obviously forgot." Then he hissed, "And if you _ever_ badmouth Momma again, I'm gonna give ya _much_ worse than a fuckin' black eye!"

We heard him storm off; Li and I shared a look, wondering what the hell had happened. Zigsa seemed to speak for us, retorting, "Didn't see that coming."

It took us a minute to get his tone before we all sputtered out laughing at the ironic self-deprecating joke.

* * *

We ran into Song on the way back to the Jade Palace. We'd lost our families in the crowd, but figured they'd be on their way back sooner or later. We told her what had happened between Ochir and his father, and also what Zigsa had told us. At the latter, she, like Li, had her doubts. But like the both of us, she was horrified to hear what Ochir had done.

"He is in _deep_ trouble," she gasped.

"Granted, his dad _did_ say some pretty nasty things to him," I said. "He even called him a 'pansy'…"

Li had gone stony-faced at this comment. Ochir had since disappeared, probably to be alone, or perhaps go back to the Jade Palace to take his anger out on something. Song and I shared a look, then Song sighed, "No use hiding it now, Li."

"B'Wha?" he looked shocked.

Song cast her blue-eyed gaze in his direction. "Yeah, I know. Fu knows; I know…I don't think Ochir knows."

"Yet," he said dismally. "Did you see how he reacted when his dad suggested he was a homosexual? Like it was something so disgusting…"

"I think it was more of the public humiliation than the actual insult," she pointed out. "At least this proved he's nothing like his old man…"

"Old is right," I snorted. "And I thought my parents were old-fashioned. Ochir's dad is hard-core."

"No, I think he's military…that's just how they are, I guess," Li said with uncertainty.

Song huffed, arms akimbo, "But Terbish didn't raise him, Master Oogway did."

"I don't mind you guys talkin' about me," Ochir suddenly said, scaring the living daylights out of us as he appeared seemingly out of nowhere, "but I'd like it better if you talked about something _else_…"

Song bit her lip, "Sorry…"

He shrugged, "Its cool."

"You feeling okay?" I asked.

"I'm better. By the way, if anyone asks, that pine forest was hit by lightning."

"Wait, _what?_"

"Up you go!" he said quickly, hoisting me up on his shoulder. "There's someone Master wants you to meet up at the Palace."

I nudged him as we set off up the stairs, "You're _sure_ you're okay."

He sighed, "Meet me at the Peach Tree when you're done, 'kay?"

"Why me? Why not Song or Li?"

He shrugged, almost toppling off his shoulder, "You're easier to talk to."

Me? Easier to talk to? Well, Tai Lung, the Furious Five, and the Dragon Warrior would all laugh in derision at _that_ opinion. "Maybe you should try talking to Master Oogway instead?"

He shook his head, "I've done that, and I get the same answers…he's gonna be disappointed that I reacted in anger."

"Who could blame you, with the things _he_ was saying?"

He smiled, "That's what I like about you, Fu."

I sighed, "Fine, I'll meet you when I'm done."

* * *

Zhou helped me along to the Sacred Hall of Warriors, where I was to meet my master and his guest. My bandages had to be changed, and as much as it hurt, I did it myself, though it looked terrible. Elder Brother had given me a special tea to ease my pain (I suspected it contained opium), and I only drank it when my mother told me to.

Now I was inside as the sun was setting, illuminating the Moon Pool before me. I sighed and looked forward, smiling at my master. Standing next to Master Oogway was a white rabbit, just a small as I was, with long whiskers, beady eyes magnified by the spectacles perched on his nose, and a peaceful smile on his face.

Once Zhou got me to the dais leading to the Moon Pool, I bowed as deeply as I could. A squeak escaped my throat as my side flared with pain. Oogway helped me stand straight again, telling me to take some deep breaths. Once the pain had subsided, I pressed my fist into my open palm in greeting, "Master, you wished to see me?"

"I did, Small One," he smiled. "But first, did you enjoy your time at the festival?"

"Very much, Master," I smiled. "Thank you."

"You would have enjoyed it too, Oogway," the rabbit said, a cheeky smile on his wrinkled face. I smiled at him; somehow, I knew I liked him, whoever he was. "You used to go to these things all the time!"

Oogway waved it off, chuckling, "Oh, when I was much younger, old friend, I'm afraid these days, the festival would be over by the time I made it down those stairs!" he winked at me, and I struggled not to smile, thinking it would be rude in front of the guest.

Oogway presented me to the rabbit, "Snow Hare, this is my student, Fu, whom I call 'Small One'. Small One, this is…"

I knew who he was. I grinned hugely. Master Snow Hare was one of the oldest living masters, at 106! I bowed again, careful not to hurt myself, "Master, it is an honor!"

The rabbit chuckled, his voice high and weedy with age. "Honor, nothing, sonny! I'm just glad I didn't have to fight you today!"

"Huh? Fight?"

"Yes," Oogway explained. "Master Snow Hare here won the 'Grand Master' title two days ago."

Now I remembered. I had seen this rabbit sitting at the judges table with Oogway and a few other masters just the day before.

He just smiled at me and patted my shoulder, "Well done, sonny-boy! Even when I was younger, I wouldn't have been able to do what you did yesterday. Imagine, fending off a mace-wielding gorilla with a _bamboo staff,_ ha!" He winked conspiringly, "You whooped him good!"

I grinned, "Thank you, Master."

"I had the honor of meeting your parents too," the centenarian rabbit continued. "You should've seen them, they are so proud of you."

I averted my eyes, smiling and feeling the blood rush to my face. Fine, so I had a hard time taking compliments…fine, I still do. I credit that to my training and upbringing at the Jade Palace.

Master Snow Hare continued, "And I thought Red Claw's student was impressive. Still, Zigsa _did_ keep us from being attacked on the way here. He'll make a nice addition…"

"Huh?" I winced for speaking out of turn, but I was absolutely perplexed. Oogway just smiled, "Ah, Small One, I know you must have run into him at the festival, yes? You know his story."

"Yes, Master," I answered. "But…I don't understand. Nice addition to what?"

"Why, to my roster of students," he said, as if I should have picked up on that sooner.

I was too young to be having heart palpitations like that, and yet there they were. My eye twitched once, but I fought it down. "Um, Master? Not to be rude, but, um…_why_?"

Oogway chuckled, allowing Master Snow Hare to answer for him, "I knew Zigsa from his boyhood. Master Red Claw and I go way back, and it was he who recommended me to escort Zigsa here. Spending time here in the Valley of Peace may very well bring him peace…"

Not so easy, I later discovered. It figures that cats are so stubborn. There is a reason why people use the saying "as impossible as herding cats". Cats in general hate taking orders, and I do believe they think they were put on the earth to be served, not serve others. Tai Lung was like that, especially as a teenager (at least until I redesigned the Training Hall and forced him to complete it flawlessly fifty times, it took him two months to do that); and during her teenage years, so was Master Tigress (she completed the Fifty Flawless Run-Throughs in just two _days,_ something I hope she'll always be proud of).

Something else I learned about cats from my time with Song, was they hated to be told they were wrong. Absolutely loathed it. That was my fear at that moment that Zigsa would be told he was wrong in his theories and philosophies, and that would trigger something. I didn't want to think about what that 'something' could be. And what was this about bringing the snow leopard some peace? Terrible images flashed through my mind, of atrocities he either went through, or committed himself.

And he was to stay here, and train, with us.

Beautiful.

* * *

"So sorry, but my Give-A-Damn appears to be broken," Song said later.

"I thought you liked him?" Li asked. Song shook her head, "I admired his prowess as a warrior, but Ochir's right—he's got something loose…" she twirled a finger around the side of her head to indicate the snow leopard was mentally unstable.

I cursed, jumping up as I remembered, "Crap! I'm supposed to meet Ochir!"

Li nodded; we were all sitting in his room, seeing as Master Jian Qiang and Ren were still down at the festival. "Go ahead, we'll still be here."

I helped myself up with a shorter bamboo staff, and took my time walking up to the Peach Tree, using the staff as a crutch. Sure enough, the rhino was sitting there, looking over the valley from his vantage point. He heard me coming, his ear swiveling back in my direction, "Fireworks'll start soon," he said.

"Sorry I'm late," I panted. He moved over to give me a place to sit. He handed me a canteen of water which I accepted gratefully.

"So the kitty's stayin', is he?" he asked offhandedly.

"If it helps," I said, wiping my lips with my wrist, "Song and Li aren't too excited either."

"What about you?"

"I'm living the dream, how's that?" I said sardonically.

He chuckled mirthlessly, crossing his arms. We fell into silence. As much as I wanted to talk more about Zigsa, I knew there was a lot on the rhino's mind right now. After a long moment, he sighed and finally spoke,

"Dad left right after we fought. I don't think he's coming back."

I looked at him; he didn't appear to be regretful at all. "And you're okay with that?"

He shrugged, "He insulted Momma—no one insults Momma. One day, when I've got students of my own…" he paused and sighed, "I'm gonna teach them that they can respect me and obey me all they want, but under _no_ circumstances are you gonna disrespect your momma. Ever."

"What happened to her?" I asked, sensing something wasn't right.

"She died giving birth to me," he said softly.

I was speechless. In all the years we'd known each other he had never so much as mentioned his mother, and now I knew why. "Ochir…"

"Stop," he said. "Fu, you didn't have to say anything."

"But what am I supposed to do?" I asked. "I'm trying to make you feel better…"

"You're listening to me, and that's doing more than you'll ever know."

Silence resumed between us until he cleared his throat, "Dad thought she was weak for not living through something thousands of women survive every day. In his mind, it wasn't that dangerous."

"If he'd said that to Song, I'm sure she'd _show_ him how it would feel…" I remarked dryly. She'd griped about cramps so many times, we figured childbirth had to be _much worse,_ especially after she described being woken up late at night "feeling like someone was stabbing a rusty knife into my lower stomach over and over again".

Was _I_ glad I wasn't born a woman.

Ochir smiled thinly. "I wouldn't put it past her. But I feel better knowing he's walking away with a black eye and a few splinters."

"What'd he hit?"

"A fruit vendor's stall and a brick wall. I sent him back about twenty feet," he said offhandedly, like it happened every day. Ochir may not have been as tall or as bulky as Terbish, but he was not yet done growing. Within four more years, I figured he'd be so colossal, that no enemy in their right mind would mess with him. "I think him calling me a pansy was the spark that lit the fuse, and that comment about Momma was when the fuse ran out…"

"I don't blame you," I said. "But…why the part about being a pansy? I heard him say a bunch of other nasty things…"

"He thought I was gay, Fu, and if I was gay, to him, I'm automatically a failure as a son and something to be reviled. I mean, Li's gay, and he's not revolting at all!"

I squeaked, literally squeaked, and my jaw dropped.

Oh, _shit_, he KNEW!

Ochir looked down at me and my shaken expression. "Yes?"

"I…" I stuttered. "I…how? How did you know?"

"Took me awhile," he said calmly. "I don't think it hit me until we were in the bathhouse the other day. The way he reacted with Ren being there, and some of the things Ren said about him…" he chuckled. "For a while, I thought _you_ were too, until Song told me about how you 'confirmed your heterosexuality'."

I blushed slightly, "But…you're not mad?"

"Mad? Why should I be?"

I was stunned. The whole valley could have exploded and the Jade Palace gone up in flames and I would not have been able to react.

He continued, "If I have any reason to be mad, it's that you guys didn't trust me enough to tell me."

"W-wait, wait…you're not mad? You're not disgusted? You don't want to…to do anything to him? Don't you hate him?"

"Fu, for the love of Guan Yin!" he groaned, rolling his eyes, "I _grew up_ with you guys! I _trained_ with you guys! You're my best friends and the _only_ friends I've got. Why in the _hell_ would I push any of you away? So Li's gay, big deal!" he threw his hands up in contempt. He emphasized, "_I_ _don't give a damn what anyone thinks_. Li's a good person, he has a lot of heart, and when it comes to kung fu, he kicks a whole hell of a lotta ass. Ren got lucky yesterday in that match."

I was still staring at him, "How are you so cool with this?"

"I might look like him, but I ain't my pop," he snorted. "Besides, remember when Song's mother tried to take her away? I took to heart what Oogway said, about adopting us and raising us. Master Oogway never pressed too hard, he never forced me to do something I wasn't comfortable doing. He was patient, he was kind, he never boasted about us. He wasn't selfish or irritable with us, and never kept a record of the things we did wrong. He never gave up on us…that's the definition of Love, I think. He raised me to love everything, to respect everything," he said. "And I love and respect my friends."

I thought about it. _Love is patient, love is kind_…Love is Love.

"I think you might have something there," I smiled.

He half-smiled, "Maybe, I dunno if it'll catch on. But as far as we're concerned, Li's safe."

"You're totally cool with it?" I asked.

"I'm cool."

"You're _sure_?"

"You ask me one more time and I'm beating the shit out of you."

We chuckled and settled back into silence as the stars rose above our heads and lights shone down on the valley floor.

"Oh, one more thing," Ochir said.

"Yeah?"

"I think Ren's totally crushing."

"You think?" I asked. I couldn't believe we were gossiping like this, but I wanted to learn more about how Ochir felt about this new information.

"Yeah. He told me _he_ was gay. I think he was comfortable telling me because he thought he could take me on if I got angry."

"Did you?"

He sent me a look, answering flatly, "Fu, do you have _any_ idea how _awkward_ it is to be sitting in the buff next to a gay guy you think is coming on to you?"

"Sorta. I know how awkward it is to get _kissed_ by one. Don't ask."

"Wasn't gonna. But he was asking me 'hypothetical' questions about this 'girl' he wanted to ask out. He slipped up too many times by calling 'she' a 'he' before I figured it out. I don't think his dad knows."

"I'm worried what'll happen when he _does _find out—he's bound to sooner or later."

"And if or when he does, Ren's got a place here. I told him that. I mean, like Oogway's gonna turn someone away? And besides, he makes Li happy, and whatever makes my friends happy makes me happy, right?"

"Since when have you been so philosophical?"

He shrugged, "I ain't no Lao Tzu, but I actually think during meditation."

"And here I thought you were sleeping this whole time…"

"No, that would be you."

"Shut up," I shoved him, and he grinned.

"Firecracker," he chuckled.

"Damn right I am!"

"Pseudo-erudite cretin," he laughed when I scowled. Soon I started laughing too. When our laughter subsided, I asked, "So are you gonna talk to Li?"

"Nah, he'll tell me when he's ready. I guess I just need to send the message that I'm cool with things like that."

"The concept of him actually doing certain…things, with other men doesn't bother you?"

"Slightly. I don't want to think of the mechanics of it. To tell ya the truth, I have a hard time seeing him as…"

"A sexual creature?"

"Yeah," he admitted.

"Yeah, me too."

Another pause, then he patted my shoulder, "C'mon Junior Master Fu, we got dinner soon, and I wanna destroy something before we go."

"Didn't you already take out a whole pine forest?"

"I told you," he winked, "It was lightning."

* * *

Our families stayed the rest of the week before they needed to return home. Ochir was happy to have avoided that ritual with his own father, but was sorry to see my family go; they had been especially kind to him after hearing what had happened in the village. For the rest of our lives, he had a place by my natal family's hearth. In fact, my parents told all three of my friends they were welcome to stay any time.

Song and her mother merely bowed to one another before parting; we all knew that Song would never quite forgive her parents for what they tried to do, but it seemed time and distance had mended some open wounds.

As for Li, I felt most sorry for him. His feelings were especially conflicted, I knew, for he was both sad and relieved to see the two wolves leave. Sad, of course, because they were the only family he had, and because Ren was easily the object of his affections. Yet the fox was relieved, obviously, because it meant that Master Jian Qiang would have a harder time figuring out his orientation if he weren't living with us.

Zigsa stood to the side, bowing reverently to Master Snow Hare, the centenarian rabbit chuckling benignly before patting the snow leopard's hand and walking down the steps with the others. Standing behind Oogway, we five felt that things would take some time to get back to normal. Certainly having the blind feline with a mercurial temper would be an adjustment. But as much as we as teenagers were loathe to admit, we already missed our families.

"You will see them again," Oogway told us. "Now that we have established firm links between your natal homes and the Jade Palace, it shall be easier for your families to keep in touch."

I saw Ochir clenching his jaw, biting back on a snort of derision. He couldn't care less. Glancing to my other side, Zigsa was also silent and still as statue. Though we all had mixed feelings, I felt sympathetic to the both of them. They were as different as sun and moon, but still shared the lack of parental figures in their lives. Ochir was metal, and Zigsa we quickly learned was nothing but fire; lots of fire. They would have many clashes, certainly; if I had any inkling of foreshadowing, I would have known that it wouldn't be the last time in my life that a rhino and a snow leopard I knew would butt heads.

* * *

Elements aside, we all came to understand each other in the next year, albeit slowly. Much to our surprise, Zigsa did not become a master that year; he was clearly not happy about that, and who could blame him? Oogway felt he had much more to learn, but try telling that to a fire personality. His attitude about combat, we learned, was quite skewed. Oogway had confided in me that he was worried about Zigsa's soul.

"It is damaged," he said. "He has seen too much death for one so young. Too much death, too much violence, too little kindness. There is darkness in him…"

Again, Foreshadowing and I aren't exactly bosom buddies.

"Did fighting Huns and Mongols do that to him, Master?" I asked one day as we sat under the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. We looked out over the valley, enjoying the scenic change of leaves into autumnal reds and golds. Oogway shook his head wearily.

"I question Red Claw's methods, surely. Zigsa was sent into battle much too young. His thinking has been warped, I believe, by the lack of peace in his life. Peace in the outer realm brings peace to the inner realm."

"Do you think he'll ever recover?" I asked.

Oogway sighed, "It is difficult to say. For some, the ability to see outward leaves them lacking in insight. In Zigsa's case, he is truly blind."

"Doesn't help that he's stubborn too," I muttered.

"No, it does not. But all five of you are very determined. He is set in the ways of Red Claw, which is unfortunate. Red Claw was much the same. We will just need to figure out another way to save his humanity…"

* * *

"Hmm, a dangerous snow leopard with darkness in his heart, and a lack of respect for life…where have I heard this story before?" Tigress rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm sensing a trend here," Mantis nodded.

"Guys, come _on_, it's not like this Zigsa guy is Tai Lung's dad or anything," Po said.

"I'm not saying _that_," Mantis said, "but it _is_ a little weird that he and Zigsa have so much in common…"

"That's just specist," Crane shook his head, "Not all snow leopards are like that…"

"Males probably are," the insect theorized.

Crane just rolled his eyes and shook his head, knowing it would be futile to convince him otherwise. Monkey just put the scroll down after rolling it back up the way they had found it. "There are still plenty of scrolls left," he said sagely. "Who knows what we'll find?"

He was interrupted when Tigress sneezed loudly. Viper inched away from her friend, who groaned, "Ugh, I hate colds…"

Monkey shrugged, "Alright, we'll get you to bed and continue in the morning."

Tigress snapped when Po stood, "If you even _think_ of carrying me there…"

He cut her off angrily, "For your information, I _wasn't_, _Your Highness_."

Tigress growled dangerously, and the other Five expected to see blood. Instead, she sneezed violently, the feline burying her maw in the folds of her blanket. Po took pity on her and handed her a fresh handkerchief. She gave him a dark look, but took the cloth with a muffled "thank you".

After they had left the room, the four remaining warriors let out the collective breath they'd been holding.

"Speaking of having so much in common," Mantis started.

"What do you mean?" Viper asked.

Crane rolled his eyes, "You'll see."

* * *

Just in case people didn't catch the reference, what Ochir was saying about Love was taken purely from the famous lines in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ("Love is patient, love is kind..."); while I'm not a hard-core Christian, I do take that passage to heart, as a reminder to always treat people with respect. I don't intend to preach to anybody, I just thought it would be something sweet to add.

As always, please read and review!


	8. Chapter 8

I own nothing. Nada, zip, zilch. I'm doing this for the hell of it, 'kay?

Thank god for the ability to eat solid foods again, that's all I'm going to say. I'm feeling much better, and I have some good news: Expect an update Wednesday evening next week, as it will be the day before Thanksgiving, which, for those not in the USA, is a huge federal holiday where everyone gets off to spend time with their families and be thankful for the blessings of the previous year (Not going into a whole schpiel about it, look it up on Wikipedia if you're so curious). Naturally, I will be traveling to see family, and will be without access to a computer for a few days. So, you all get a lovely update a couple days in advance. Good times!

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

* * *

Chapter 8

* * *

Monkey was the first up the next morning, despite the temptation to sleep in. Just because Tigress was infirm didn't mean the rest of them could slip up. Shifu had been gone for four days now, and as much as this little vacation was nice, that didn't mean they could slack off.

When he made it to the Training Hall, Monkey realized he wasn't the first one up after all. Po was practicing against the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors…and getting his butt handed to him. The primate thought this was very strange; nowadays, Po could handle anything in the Training Hall with at least decent proficiency. He still struggled on the rings and the Seven Swinging Clubs, but otherwise, he had improved marvelously. What Monkey was seeing now, was just downright sloppy.

"Po?" he asked, seeing the panda stiffen. Monkey had never seen Po this way. Usually the panda was happy-go-lucky, letting nothing get him down, and cracking jokes all day long. Now, the Dragon Warrior was quite serious, an expression that didn't engage well with his jolly appearance.

"Hey," he said as a quiet greeting. "Sleep well?"

"Well enough, you?"

"Peachy," Po said sullenly.

Monkey watched as Po threw a punch and missed by a mile; the simian sighed, "Something distracting you?"

"Yeah, I guess…I dunno, I just got so mad last night…"

Ah, Tigress. Yes, Monkey suspected as much. He couldn't entirely blame Po for feeling so angry at Tigress' actions, and he couldn't blame Tigress for the way she was anyway. She had not always been like that. But it was none of his business to tell that to Po. Monkey wondered if Shifu had made any mention...no, he probably would not have mentioned much about Tigress until later on. Why would anyone care about _how_ she came to the Jade Palace, so long as she _did_?

"You shouldn't blame her," Monkey said. "Tigress…well, she's a very guarded person."

"She doesn't have any reason to be!" Po said, finally nailing a wooden croc face, sending it flying across the room. "I didn't do _anything_ to hurt her, I've done nothing but try to help, and all she does is…"

"Po, the thing you need to understand…she hates being the damsel in distress. She doesn't want to accept help from anyone, even if she needs it."

"She asks you guys for help."

"Only in battle. Any other time, it's looking out for Number One."

"Why is she like that?"

Monkey sighed, "That's not for me to tell you. She has her reasons. I know she's difficult, but there's more to her than you think. What I will say is this: she might look like she doesn't care, but in reality, she cares more than anyone will ever know."

The two males were silent for a moment, Po thinking it over and Monkey waiting patiently for the panda to say something. When he didn't, the simian waved the panda out of the Training Hall. "Want to get something to eat?"

Po sighed, "Yeah, sure."

* * *

It had gotten much colder during the night, and ice had already left a light coating on the ground. The two males used this opportunity to work on their balance and footing, slipping and sliding across the ice and frost-covered ground as they made their way back to the bunkhouse. Po only wiped out once, which they took as a victory in itself.

Viper, Mantis and Crane were all sitting in the kitchen, which was as warm as a tropical summer compared to the chill outside. Viper had slithered into a kind of "snake sweater" knitted from lambs' wool, the poor serpent utterly unprepared for winter's early onslaught. She scooted closer to the stove to keep warm, coiling tightly and shivering, while Crane fanned himself with a wing. When Mantis moved over to the window, Viper struck out, barely missing the insect; he jumped back and she went back to her seat, hissing, "Open that window and I'm squashing you!"

"Not my fault you're cold-blooded. I'm burning up in here!"

Crane rolled his eyes, "Can we try _not_ fighting for once? _Every year_ it's the _same_ thing…"

Po cut off their bickering by inviting Viper to help him cook breakfast. She told him that Tigress was still asleep, though she wasn't sure she was better or worse. The snake did apologize for Tigress' outburst the night before: "She's usually testier when she's not feeling well."

"How can you tell the difference?" Po asked.

"Trust me, after nearly twenty years of training with her, I'd know," she said simply. Their breakfast was peaceful and quiet, and they followed it with an hour of intensive training. Tigress had still not graced them with her presence.

"You sure she's okay?" Po asked.

"I threatened to bite her if she even _thought_ about getting up," Viper grinned wickedly as she sparred with the panda.

"Wow, harsh."

"Not really. I've used that tactic on her for years, and it never fails!"

"Isn't she going to be mad?"

"She won't take it out on you, I won't let her."

Po froze, "Wait, why would she take it out on ME?"

When Tigress eventually dared to test Viper's fury by leaving her room, the five other warriors were in the main sitting room around the brazier, handing out hot cups of milk tea and various hearty foods. The feline scowled, seeing that the only open spot for her was right next to Po. They were at each other's throats; whose bright idea was this? One glance towards Viper gave Tigress all the information she needed. She took her seat, wrapping a fresh warm blanket around her chilled body, ignoring the looks she was getting from Po. He didn't offer to help.

Crane took up the next scroll. "Okay, it looks like it's my turn…"

"How much time has passed in this one?" Mantis asked.

Crane paused, then nodded once, "Five years. So that means Shifu and Li are nineteen, Song's eighteen, Ochir has to be twenty-one, and Zigsa twenty-four."

"Wow, this must be the scroll where they all become masters!" Po said excitedly. Everyone else in the room shared his exuberance and Crane began, "We'll see…"

* * *

The next five years are a blur to me. There was very little of interest that occurred, or, at least, anything of interest to my intended audience. Master Oogway entered us in the tournament again, each year, except for the one that took place the year I turned nineteen. That year, we had more pressing issues than a kung fu competition.

Rogue Mongol bands in the north were inching further south in an attempt to invade, and reports from the Great Wall warned of strengthening numbers on a scale that had not been seen in centuries. The Valley of Peace had little to worry about, as it was in one of the safest geological locations in the whole empire.

But I was worried about my family.

Song was worried about her mother.

Li was worried about Ren and Master Jian Qiang, because they were right at the front of the line.

Zigsa, though he would never admit it, worried for his master and comrades who were also fighting against the would-be invaders.

As for Ochir, I knew that deep in his heart, he worried about his father, too.

At first, our concern did little to disrupt our daily routine. But as the days turned to weeks and weeks into months, not a single one of us could sit still. Meditation became nearly impossible for Song, Li's aim was completely thrown, Zigsa stopped sleeping through the night, and even Ochir, who was the sturdiest of us all, fidgeted and twitched on occasion.

Zigsa and I shared that much in common; as the news got worse, we lost sleep. In times like that, we felt no need for training so late at night, and meditation brought us no peace. So we would sit in the courtyard outside the Training Hall, under the tall oak tree, he controlling his breathing, and I playing the flute. The flute was a gift from my family, after my fifteenth birthday; it had belonged to my grandfather, and had been left to me by Grandmother after she passed. My two brothers saw no need to learn an instrument, when they spent much of their time farming. Oogway thought the idea was a novel one, and allowed me to learn to play. I was still not very good at meditation, but music provided that outlet, that much-needed release, that I couldn't get from just sitting and simply thinking about inner peace, and never achieving it.

One night, very close to the summer solstice, Zigsa and I were sitting up late again, I playing my flute, he just sitting, listening to the music and the rhythm of the night.

"Your songs all sound so mournful," he said suddenly.

I stopped, looking over at him, "How do you mean?"

"I remember when you first started to learn that blasted thing," he snorted, "Everything was happy, up-beat, beautiful songs about hope and love…now, all I hear in those notes is melancholy and woe."

I sighed, resting my flute on my crossed knees. "I hadn't noticed…"

I had changed much in five years. My voice had deepened (yet another period of puberty I was glad to see gone), I was now fully grown, as strong as I would ever be, and if village gossip were to be believed, I was "the cutest, next to Li, of course". Now, Li (and I am not afraid to admit it) was a handsome devil by then, with emphasis on "devil"; his wit and biting remarks could be acerbic at times, especially when he was matched with Zigsa, but that childlike mischievousness and natural vulpine slyness never left him. Ochir, as I predicted, was now a fully grown rhino bull, and so massive, not a single enemy would take him on and expect to win.

As for Song…well, any teenage girl has her own amount of beauty. She had been an adorable kitten, a lovely girl, and now, I was left puzzled and wondering when she had become such a beautiful woman. She was still the same old Song, but with sex appeal. A smart woman with sex appeal is a dangerous opponent indeed, especially if you're a man. She had grown taller, and we males were surprised to find one day that she had developed curves, and startlingly beautiful blue eyes. Her eyes had always been lovely, but something about them now was positively alluring…

Zigsa was much the same in appearance, with exception to some muscle definition. But his attitude had begun to change, I noticed, yet this was no seismic shift that can change the face of a mountain in the span of a minute. He changed like any mountain did: slowly.

But now I was looking at this mountain of a cat and wondering aloud, "Everything used to be so simple…what happened?"

"Nothing happened," he said. "We just grew up."

"So life has always been this complicated?"

"What do I look like, Master Oogway?" he snorted derisively.

I confess that lack of sleep affected my lack of a fuse as well: "Yeah, its no wonder you're not a master at twenty-four years old," I said sharply.

Zigsa snarled and dug his claws into the ground, his whole body tense. "That honor should have been mine a long time ago! Four years, Fu, four _years_ I should have been a master already! What the hell is that old turtle waiting for, the sky to cave in?!"

"Master Oogway has a reason for every thing he does!" I snapped back. "If you're still not a master, that's hardly his fault!"

"What does he want from me?!" he demanded, standing and pacing the ground. He was so worked up he tripped a few times—though he was blind, he walked and moved like he had perfect vision—so I knew how distracted this was making him. "I train every day, until my body screams at me to stop; I push myself to the limits of my strength, to _prove_ how strong I am, and where has it gotten me? _Where_, Fu? _Where has it gotten me?!_"

He was panting, and I was still sitting there, waiting for him to say something. Finally he sighed, holding his head in his hands, "Nowhere. I haven't gotten anywhere. Its like coming to a fork in the road and taking the same turn over and over again, walking in circles and going no further…"

"But if you know you're taking the wrong turn, why do you keep taking it?"

He turned his head in my direction and I could see the long-suffering look on his face, "You're spending _way_ too much time with him."

Spending too much time with Oogway? Maybe I was. I was wiser for it; at least I hoped I was. But my question made sense to me. If Zigsa knew what he was doing wrong, why did he keep doing it? I fingered the flute in my lap, practicing the finger placements as I thought. Zigsa finally slumped down next to me again, sighing tiredly.

"Becoming a master is a rite of passage for a kung fu student," he said after a long pause. "Every culture has a rite of passage that turns boys into men. I should have been a man four years ago. If only you knew how it feels to be twenty-four, blind, and still be a _boy_ in everyone's eyes…"

"You think your being blind is the reason?"

"What else could it be?" he demanded desperately. "I can do anything that you all can, I can do things even you can _not_ do! So why haven't I become a man yet?"

"There's nothing wrong with waiting…"

"For how long, Fu?! How much longer am I going to have to wait?!" he snapped. He growled low in his throat, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "I'm going back to bed," he said suddenly, got up, and left, leaving me alone.

I sighed, shaking my head. I placed the flute back to my lips and began playing. As I played, I recalled the manner in which the elements worked in unison.

Water nurtures the earth, the earth is the foundation for wood, wood gives the energy and fuel to fire, which heats and molds metal, which turns from a solid to a liquid when in a heated state. Conversely, fire wipes out a forest to bring new life, giving nutrients to soil for plants to grow, and cleansing the earth. Water controls both fire by extinguishing it when it gets out of control, and metal by making it rust and dissolve.

As I worked out these philosophies in my head, I was interrupted when something fell to the ground with a thump and a loud quack. I opened my eyes and jumped to my feet as Zhou slowly picked himself up. "Zhou, Zhou! Are you okay?"

The goose coughed, clearing his lungs of dust, and dusted off his wings, "Nope, one of my better landings."

Well, there weren't any broken bones, and nothing had been damaged, so yes, it most certainly was a good landing. I credit Zhou for teaching me what I have since taught Master Crane of the Furious Five: "any landing you can walk away from is a _good_ landing".

Still flustered, he nodded to me, "I'm glad I found you first. This message is from your natal village, in the southern Zhou-tong village…"

I grinned, pressing him for news. "My family, great! How are they? Did my cousins marry out yet? When's Second Brother's wedding? Has Elder Brother's son spoken his first word yet? Did Mama get over her cold—" I was cut off by the sober look on his face. Something was very wrong.

"Zhou?"

He sighed, "I need to get this message to Master Oogway; you might as well come with me…"

"Zhou," I stopped him, "Tell me what's going on, you don't need to tell me what the letter says…"

"I'm sorry, Fu…"

"Are they alive and safe?! Tell me that much!"

"Yes! Yes they're safe, and alive…" he trailed off, and my heart sunk when I heard the two unspoken words: "for now". My eyes glanced down at the scroll under the goose's wing, and as we passed under some lanterns, I saw dark red drops staining the outside of it. I hoped it was just red ink, and not what I _thought_ it was.

* * *

We found Master Oogway in no time at all. He was meditating in front of the Moon Pool, the ornate golden dragon on the ceiling reflected in the still water. I knew he heard us coming, but he was as slow and deliberate as always.

"Master Oogway," Zhou huffed, still winded from his flight, "I have urgent news from the southern Zhou-tong village…"

"Ah…" my master said, slowly standing. "Small One's family is doing well, I presume?"

"Ah, well…" Zhou glanced quickly in my direction, then asked, "Master, I'm not sure that having Fu here is a good—"

"It is permissible," he explained.

Zhou paused again, sending a look my way. I could tell he didn't want to say anything with me there. "Sir…its bad news…its very bad news."

I felt my stomach flop and bile rising in my throat. Had someone died? Or was someone very ill?

"Ah, Zhou. There is only news, it can never be good or bad…"

"The Huns, led by the Great Khan…they've crossed the border, and are on a straight path for the Tong villages," Zhou finally said.

My master paused, astonishment in his wrinkled expression. "Well, that _is_ bad news."

I don't believe I was physically ill at that moment, but vomiting would have eased the tension in my gut. The unthinkable had happened: the Huns had invaded China, and my family was right in their path!

"Do they know?" I asked. "Do they know what danger they're in?"

Zhou was silent; my worry only intensified. "Zhou!"

"They know the Huns have crossed the border…" he turned to Oogway, "But they don't know how far Khan is from them, or how fast he travels."

I looked to my master; he looked so concerned, his jade skin had lightened a few shades as he paled. "How fast, Zhou?"

The goose sighed, "Ten, twelve miles a day, give or take, and depending on the weather and terrain. The further south he moves, the faster he becomes."

My thoughts buzzed in my head like a hornets' nest angered by a stick being poked into it. How else could I describe the buzzing in my ears, drowning out everything else? I almost missed what Oogway said:

"Has the Emperor not sent help?"

"He has, sir, but it won't arrive in time…"

Oogway's eyes locked with mine; my throat was dry, but if I had the ability to speak, I don't think words would have done justice to the plea my eyes were sending him. My master sighed, accepting the scroll from the messenger. "Thank you, old friend. Go, rest, you have done well. Have a good sleep."

Zhou sent me one last sympathetic look before leaving the Sacred Hall of Warriors. I looked back at my master, who stared back at me. After a long pause, he sighed, "I know what is in your heart, Small One…"

"Master, let me go!" I finally begged. "They're my family, I can protect them!"

His next words broke my heart.

"I am sorry, Fu. I am afraid I can't allow that."

"What?" My heart was breaking. "You…you can't be serious."

"I am perfectly serious, young man," he said sternly. "One warrior can not take on the entire Hun army. Even a warrior as capable as you."

"You always taught me it's not the size of the warrior in the fight," I said, my temper flaring, "It's the size of the fight in the warrior!"

"But this is not your fight," he said, turning away from me.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" I yelled.

He looked back at me, studying my face. I was seething, "Don't you _dare_ turn your back on me! I've given you my life, and given up everything else. I thought I would have to give up my family too, but you let me keep that. Now that I stand to lose them, I'm not going to let it happen!"

"Fu," he said sternly, "If you disrespect my wishes, then you are not the warrior I thought you to be."

"You taught me to always fight with honor!" I yelled. "Where is the honor in knowing you can help someone, and yet refusing to do it?!"

"Even if I allowed you to go, there is no possibility of you arriving in time to save them," he frowned. "It is too late."

"We can still fight the Huns!"

"Fu," he replied, "A single student cannot fight a horde that an army of masters was unable to defeat."

"I DON'T CARE!" I screamed. "If I fight them and die, at least I die with honor!"

"There is NO honor in a suicide mission!" he snapped. I cowed instantly, stepping back in alarm. He had never raised his voice to me, and I realized he had said my name three times in the past two minutes. I was in trouble, and instinct told me it was because I had talked back to him with blatant disrespect. But I simply couldn't stand back while my family's welfare hung by a fraying thread.

"Go to your quarters," he ordered. "We will discuss this no more."

He had given me an order, a direct order. He had _never_ given _any_ of us an order before. He was perfectly serious, adamant that I was not to disobey him. Wordlessly, I turned without bowing, storming from the hall and to the outdoors. As I descended the steps, I looked out over the Valley of Peace, to the distance, where I could see the faint outline of the Thread of Hope.

My heart felt like it had fallen on the ground. How could I abandon my family? How could I stand idle in the peace of this valley while they were in mortal peril? I suppose its no surprise what I decided that very moment. I went back to my quarters all right, but only to grab a few necessary articles. I stopped in the kitchen and grabbed minimal provisions, only enough to last me a week. My staff in hand, and a butterfly sword for extra protection, I snuck out.

Damn the consequences, even if I were disgraced, kicked out for insubordination, I didn't care. At that moment, I knew where my true loyalty lay. I was my parents' son long before I was Oogway's student.

I dashed through the village, the pack light on my back, and I cleared the village wall with a single somersault. Now I was on my way to the Thread of Hope, barely breaking a sweat, but my heart beating wildly against my ribcage.

Suddenly someone blocked my path. I skidded to a halt, and my jaw dropped.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Li demanded.

I glared, "This doesn't concern you; let me pass." I gasped when he drew his blade on me. He had come with his weapons, and he looked dead set on using them. "You take one more step…"

"Or what? You'll kill me? You don't have it in you! This is my family, Li, I'm not going to let them get killed, or worse! Let me pass," I gritted out the last three words.

"No."

"I mean it, Li, _don't_ try and stop me!"

I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked back and saw Song; behind her, Zigsa and Ochir stood, stone-faced. Song's blue eyes looked into mine sympathetically.

"We're not trying to stop you," she said. "We're coming with you."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Now that the clouds were no longer covering the moon, I saw smiles on my friend's faces. "Then…Li, why are you in my path?"

He smirked, "'Cause I don't want you having all the fun."

"Master Oogway's going to punish all of you," I told them.

"Let him," Zigsa snorted.

"You bet," Ochir nodded. "This is one order I have no problem disobeying."

For the first time in months, my heart swelled with hope. In what was the darkest hour of my life to date, my friends were still standing by my side. In fact, four bags sat next to Zigsa's feet; the snow leopard tapped his white staff on the ground. "Supposedly, it'll take us two weeks to get there?"

Walking, yes, it would have taken two weeks. But I had been much younger, and traveling with a tortoise and my father when I had last made the trip. I nodded.

"The hell with that," Li smirked. "We can make it in five days."

"You think?"

"We'll be dead tired when we get there, but it's doable. We're much faster than we were as kids."

"The only thing that'll hold us up will be the bridge," Song reasoned. "After that, we can breeze through bandit country."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

Ochir laughed, "Like anyone's going to attack a quintet that has a snow leopard and a rhino!"

He had a point.

Song shoved me. "What're we waiting for? Let's get going!"

* * *

It's probably no surprise that I was terrified of heights. So was Ochir, which I found exceedingly ironic. Song, Li, and Zigsa appeared to take no mind to the Thread of Hope. The only thing they groaned about was that it was a thousand-mile bridge (or at least it felt like it. I doubt anyone ever bothered to measure its real distance. They said the Great Wall was a thousand miles long, but I learned later this was never the case). Yet somehow, by midnight the next night (I will never know how we did it) we had made it to the other side, and into bandit country. We had been running all day and all night, but didn't stop for long, only for water and a quick meal of travel bars; these were little more than baked hard cakes made of rice, wild oats, nuts and dried berries.

As Ochir had predicted, not a single bandit bothered us. They took one look at our weapons and the speed at which we traveled and kept their distance. We had seen them, and I wondered why we had ever feared them—they were little more than ragtag gangs, really. Perhaps most of them were farmers who were down on their luck after a bad harvest the year before.

Li's prediction of making it to the southern Zhou-tong village in five days proved to be incorrect; in reality, the trip would take seven days. It was still less time than we had expected. About day four, Song wisely called for us to stop and rest. We had made it, oh, I couldn't say how many miles, and we were exhausted. However, we had also exhausted our food reserves.

"We should be able to forage for something," Song said as we rested by a mountain spring. "Just remember to be careful of the mushrooms and berries you pick—some could be poisonous."

Ochir and Zigsa had set out, leaving Li, Song and I to set up a small camp. I was putting together a fire, making sure to use dry, dead wood to make as little smoke as possible. Song was in the process of setting up a couple makeshift tents out of tarps she had brought, while Li stood guard, bow and arrows always ready. We were silent as we worked, sure that if we weren't careful, we could very well be under attack with our two biggest warriors out foraging.

Song was in the process of rolling out our bedrolls under the tents when Li suddenly motioned for us to stop moving. We stopped, our eyes scanning the bushes and undergrowth around us. The way Li's ears flicked around told us that someone was watching us. The air hung heavy like a shroud around us, and we swore we could hear each others' hearts beating wildly.

Li held up one arm to signal us to stay put, and he slowly started to pad towards a bush. The tension was nearly unbearable as Song and I exchanged a brief glance; we understood each other, slowly reaching for our respective weapons.

Suddenly, Li sprung towards the bush, drawing his knife as a masked fighter raised a sword over his head. The fox blocked the downward strike, locking the hilts together and tore the weapon from the assailant's grasp…

"Li?"

He stopped short, staring in shock. Then his face broke into a relieved grin. "Ren!"

"Thank the gods!" Ren shouted, instantly grabbing his old friend into a tight hug, which Li returned zealously. We could hardly believe it: here was Jian Ren, son of Master Jian Qiang, now five years older, as handsome at twenty-one as he had been at sixteen, and still as amiable as always. Song and I let out a simultaneous sigh of relief, jumping up to meet the wolf. He broke the hug, smiling at all of us. He looked worn, tired, but relieved to see us. "I was just on my way to the Valley of Peace to beg for your help. My father and Master Red Claw have engaged the Huns just a few clicks north of here. They're holding them at bay, but we need reinforcements."

"Has the Emperor's forces made it yet?" Song asked.

"You heard about that? No, they're still another couple days out. They're marching double-time, so hopefully they'll be there in time…"

"You're traveling alone?" I asked.

"I had no choice, there were a couple other scouts that were sent out with conscription notices, we travel faster alone," he paused, still smiling, "I'm so glad I ran into you…"

"Master Oogway wouldn't be," Song said.

"Why not?"

"He specifically forbade us to go," Li explained. "Fu was the only one with the balls to go of his own will. The rest of us just followed him."

"Leader of the rebellion, eh?" Ren smirked at me. "I didn't think you had it in you."

"I'm just full of surprises," I shrugged. "Listen, we're making camp, and since we're on the same path…"

Ren sighed tiredly, understanding and accepting my invitation. "Thank you."

* * *

Ochir and Zigsa welcomed Ren to our party when they returned, having found sufficient stores of food. It was meager, but it was enough to get us to my natal village in time. Ren sat with us around our fire, giving us updates on the crisis.

"The Emperor's forces immobilized a regiment of Huns—if you can call it that—just outside of Kaifeng. As sure as the wind blows, not a single Hun will ever step into the capital."

"What about the Wall?" Zigsa asked. "They crossed it?"

Ren nodded, "They were ruthless, killed untold number of imperial soldiers. It was chaos."

"What are our chances?" Ochir asked.

Ren sighed, taking a long drink of water. "Before running into you, I would have said our chances were very slim. The Huns came out of nowhere, a surprise attack if I've ever heard of one."

"Do you really think we stand a chance to win with just us five?"

"A single grain of rice can tip a scale," Zigsa said. "Master Red Claw said that one warrior can mean all the difference in battle."

"Besides," Ren continued, "You all are students of Master Oogway himself! If anyone can help in defeating the Huns, it's all of you!"

Zigsa snorted; Ren sent him a confused look but Li brought his attention back, "You said something about holding them back…how did the battle go?"

"It was still going when I left; my father ordered me and five others to disband and go for help. My brethren have made it as far as Yunnan, Haijin, and Gauzhang. As long as the western parts of the empire still stand, we have a chance at winning."

"How are we on offense?" Ochir asked. Ren shook his head, and in the firelight I could see how worn and defeated the charcoal-grey wolf looked.

"Not good, practically nonexistent. We've been on the defensive since day one."

Ochir snorted, "That won't last long."

"How do the Huns fight?" Song asked.

"How _else_ would they fight?" Zigsa asked rhetorically. "They fight as barbarians always fight: strong and swift offense, to overpower their opponent."

The idea struck me. "Then that means they expel a great deal of energy in the initial attack…"

"Well obviously. It's their brute strength that has won numerous campaigns…"

Li grinned slyly as he looked at me, "I see that look…"

So did Ren. "Fu, why are you grinning like that?"

Ochir and Song just chuckled. I looked back at Ren, "Oh, you'll see."

* * *

A short while later, Song commanded us to get some sleep. She knew we were in the habit of overworking ourselves into extreme fatigue, and she wouldn't risk us being in such horrible shape to fight Huns. Ren agreed with her, and he was the first to retire. Zigsa offered up his bedroll, and decided to sleep over with Li and Ren.

Song, Ochir and I shared the other makeshift tent; it was a tight fit, but the night was chilly anyway, so neither of us minded. I volunteered to get some more firewood for Zigsa, who had first watch that night. As I walked past the tent Li and Ren were sharing, I couldn't help overhearing their conversation:

"Do you still feel the same way as five years ago?" Li asked quietly.

"I'd be lying if I said it was easy for me to reject you like that. Ever since you left to train at the Jade Palace, home just didn't feel right…"

"You were six, I was four, it wasn't like anything ever occurred between us."

"You think that matters? I still missed you. Remember how we used to share a room? After you left, I slept alone, and I hated it, I still hate sleeping alone."

Li sighed, "You told me that I was confused, that I should wait."

"I wanted to spare your feelings, you know that. You were only just discovering yourself, and if I selfishly acted on my desires, I'd only be hurting you in the process…"

"That's also if and when your father found out about us—if there would _ever_ be an 'us'."

"You're saying you wouldn't want that?" Ren sounded hurt.

"I'm saying that I'm not sure we'll live to see an 'us'," my friend said sullenly.

"Please don't talk like that, Li…"

"Ren, you don't need to protect me. I know this is war, and I know people die in war. I'm just trying to be realistic…"

"No, you're giving me a taste of my own medicine," Ren said sourly. "Not that I blame you, but I thought this was what you wanted?"

"This isn't about me. I didn't come all this way for my needs, whatever they are. I came out here for Fu…what? Why are you staring at me like that?"

I admit, I wasn't feeling very comfortable either.

"It's him, is it?" Ren asked, a sharp edge to his voice.

"What?"

"He's the reason you're out here?"

"Well, yes, he is. We _are_ going to _his_ natal village to visit his family…"

"I see."

"Wait…you don't think…oh, Ren come _on_!" Li laughed softly. "Seriously? Oh come on, you can't seriously be jealous!"

"Jealous? Of a perfectly capable kung fu warrior who understands filial duty overrules loyalty to his master? Jealous of a guy who is kind, has a great sense of humor, a big heart, a cute ass, and the body that could _stop a stampede of rampaging oxen at fifty paces_?!" he took in a shaky breath and faked a laugh. "You're right! Why should I be jealous?"

I heard Li sigh. "Fu's as straight as an arrow flies. And even if he weren't, it wouldn't work out anyway. He and I have known each other for years, and we're really close…"

"You're not doing a good job convincing me, here."

"I love Fu, don't get me wrong. I always will. But it's not the kind of love you think it is. I've been out with a few guys now…"

"What? You've _what_?" Ren gasped.

I winced. Oh, right, I remembered those nights Li went out. Song and I needed to cover for him, and we weren't entirely sure Oogway bought our excuses. There are only so many times you can say "he has a headache/stomachache/insert malady here" before it gets suspicious. Sometimes he'd come back from a date—for it most surely was one—and be in a bad mood. He'd sit with Song in her room and both would bash men. Strange though it was, I still laugh about some of the things that were said between them when they thought no one was listening. And on the nights when we knew it was a _good_ date…well, we wouldn't see him until well before the gong sounded the next morning.

Now, this is not to say Li was promiscuous, far from it. He had only perhaps seven dates total, and of those, maybe three were _good_ dates. Not many, for the average person, but we lived in the Jade Palace, on top of the Jade Mountain, with 1000 steps isolating us from the village. And we were training to become kung fu masters. We were far from "average"; those seven dates might as well have been seventy.

So, bearing that in mind, I knew why Ren sounded so utterly betrayed. "You didn't wait."

Li groaned, "Oh please, you wouldn't have waited either! I'm not your girlfriend, I'm not your wife. I don't see a ring on my finger, so don't even start!"

"Damn it, Li, don't you get it?! Those letters I sent, the little gifts, all of that correspondence back and forth over the years…and the bow! You're still using it!"

"Well, _yeah_," he said, "It's a good weapon, and I still feel like I didn't deserve it…"

"You almost didn't."

"What?"

Ren sighed, shifting a little. "The former owner died in prison, but before he did, he and Dad struck up a…friendship, I guess? Anyway they started talking, getting to know one another; I think Dad went into it trying to get inside the Mongol mind, but in the end, I don't think he cared much about that. That general guy was really smart. He liked riddles, and we swapped jokes whenever we saw each other. He wasn't so bad as Mongols go; he was educated, so cultured he might as well have been Chinese.

"Before we left for the tournament, I was talking with him, telling him about you. I told him I hadn't seen you since we were both really small, and I was supposed to think of something to get you for a birthday gift. But it had been ten years—who knew what you liked? We got on the subject of Master Oogway, and what he said about your training…when the general heard you liked archery, he told me to go into the armory where the Mongols' seized weapons were, and find his bow…" the wolf sighed heavily. "He told me to give it to you. It had served him well, the animals carved into the wood had protected him from harm, and in giving it to you, he said the bow's protection would pass on to you. 'As long as the bow has the blessing from his previous master', he said, 'his luck will pass on to the next'.

"So there we were, at the Jade Palace, the first time I had ever seen it, and there _you_ were, ten years older, and I…oh hell, Li, I couldn't believe it was you…"

"Well, yeah, I get that I grew a lot," Li said, and somewhat sheepishly.

"It's not that," Ren sighed. "You were a man…a young man, yes, but still a man. And I thought you were absolutely breathtaking. Why else do you think I stuttered so much when I gave it to you? That bow stopped being a simple birthday present and turned into…gods, I don't know…"

"You tried to win me over with a gift," Li finished for him.

Ren laughed mirthlessly, "Gods, that sounds awful, doesn't it?"

Li sighed heavily, shifting on the bedroll. "Ren, I'm going to be completely honest with you. Yes, I love Fu. I love Fu like I love Ochir, like I love Zigsa, and like I love Song. But I'm not _in_ love with any one of them. I'm not _in_ love with any of the guys I've been with. And right now…I'm not sure I'm in love with you."

Ren was silent for a moment. "I hope you're just breaking my heart now, in anticipation that either one of us dies in battle…"

"You're right, that's exactly what I'm doing," my friend replied honestly, quietly. "So do us both a favor, and don't plan for anything long-term."

Ren was silent for a long moment; clearly this was not going the way he hoped it would. Then he sighed, rolling onto his side. "All right."

"Good night, Ren."

"Good night, Li."

I left immediately after, knowing I had intruded onto something that was far more intimate than I was previously aware. The intimate hug I recalled from five years before took on a new meaning after I heard the whispered good night shared between them. When many think of intimacy, they think of sexual love. This was not the case—had _never_ been the case—between Li and Ren; their love extended far deeper than any love I had ever known, and will ever know. They had been raised side by side, and had shared the purest form of love that ran deeper than brotherly love, deeper than physical or romantic love, and longer-lasting than even friendship. What they had was something so deep that there were no words to convey how profound that love was.

And the tragedy was that neither of them knew it. Yet.

I gathered what kindling I could, left it with Ochir, who had switched with Zigsa, and retreated to the tent I was sharing with Song. She was already asleep, or at least I thought she was. I crawled under my blanket, back to back with her. Feeling the heat radiating off her body was all it took to keep me awake, and the conversation I had eavesdropped on was still spinning like a top in my head.

"I can hear the gears turning," Song mumbled sleepily. "Something on your mind?"

Actually, there was. I wasn't sure I should ask but… "Song?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think I have a cute ass?"

She was silent for a moment, then sat up, staring at me like I had grown nine tails. "_WHAT?_"

I repeated myself, "Do you think I have a cute ass?"

I couldn't be sure, but I swore her left eye started twitching. Then she groaned and flopped down onto her bedroll. "Fu, go to sleep."

"But Song…"

"Let me to rephrase: you go to sleep before I smother you with your own tail."

"Yes'm."

* * *

The next morning we were ready to set out. Ren had found a short cut that would get us to my natal village by the next morning, and we would leave as soon as we finished a quick breakfast. We ate in silence, probably for a variety of reasons. Ochir and Zigsa were still on thin ice with each other. Li and Ren were technically "fighting". And Song and I were trying hard to forget our short conversation the night before. Scratch that, _she_ was trying to forget; I was still curious as to the level of attractiveness of my own posterior. But I rather liked having breathing as a hobby, so I decided not to press the issue, especially in front of everyone else.

After an oxymoronic deafening silence, Li finally sighed and set his bowl down.

"Okay, guys, before we continue, there's something I need to say…"

"You're gay," Ochir and Zigsa chorused.

Our jaws dropped. Song still had no idea Ochir knew. None of us had any idea Zigsa knew. Li was completely flummoxed.

"You…you know?!"

"Well _duh_," Ochir said. "Not the brightest, but I'm not blind."

Zigsa raised a finger, pointing at himself, "Blind, not stupid."

"How…how long have you…"

"Five years," they replied in unison. "Since the tournament," Ochir explained.

"And…you're okay with it?"

"We're okay with it as long as you remember to warn us ahead of time when you're bringing someone home," Zigsa said. "Remember, my hearing's better than most—I'd like to be told in advance to use earplugs on certain nights…"

Li blushed so bright a red, not even his red fur could hide it.

Ochir snickered, "And just be smart about it, alright? Don't go getting involved with guys I need to rough up later."

"Seriously," Li said, "You guys are okay with…"

Song voiced it for the rest of us, "Li, if you ask us one more time, we'll _all_ take turns beating the shit outta you."

"And for the record, I'm gay too," Ren said triumphantly.

"Look, can we get out of this Kumbaya circle and hit the road?" Zigsa asked impatiently.

"It wouldn't kill you to be a little more sympathetic," Song glared.

"I _am_ sympathetic. We have a mission to complete, and I want to get there soon. But oh, what the hell, if we're displaying our deepest darkest secrets, hey, guess what, I'm deathly afraid of water! There, I said it!"

"Afraid of heights!" Ochir said, "And squirrels."

"Squirrels?" we all asked.

"Fluffy-tailed tree rats…just ain't _right_…" he shuddered.

"I still sleep with a teddy bear," Song confessed.

And what was I to say? As far as I knew, I didn't have any deep dark secrets; I thought we'd told each other everything. Everything but…I looked at Song. _I'm in love with one of my best friends…_ I couldn't say that. Not yet. Instead, I replied,

"I'm still a virgin."

Ochir snorted, "That's no secret, Fu."

"Hey!"

Song giggled and Zigsa had a hard time hiding a smile. Ren and Li, for their part, just looked relieved that their coming out had gone so smoothly with us. It was out in the open, and for the first time, they could be themselves without having to hide anything.

As for me, I was still harboring a few deep-seated secret fears. The first was of course my fear for my family's welfare. The second was fears of my relationship or lack thereof with Elder Brother; did he still hate me, or had his anger cooled over the past five years? I couldn't say. The third fear was that as a result of my blatant disobedience to my master that I was done with kung fu for good. If I were kicked out, rejected, where would I go? I had no other skills, very little prospects, and it wasn't like I could go back to farming, get married and have a family.

I wasn't sure if this was also on everyone else's minds, but we broke camp and set out, a grim silence falling over us.

* * *

And there we are. Not as happy with this chapter as I've been with others, but this is a transitional one into much more drama and stuff. As always, please read and review!


	9. Chapter 9

As promised, here is the usual weekly update, a couple days in advance. Tomorrow's Thanksgiving, and I need to be on the road at O-Dark-Ugly in the morning in order to make it home on time for dinner. I will not have access to a personal computer until Sunday evening, much to my chagrin. Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

* * *

Chapter 9

* * *

While Tigress was still infirm with her cold, Crane had taken over training until her recovery. As the jokingly self-proclaimed "den mother", who found himself responsible for quelling tempers and keeping the peace amongst the group, he seemed as the second-most logical choice to keep everyone in line while Shifu was gone, after Tigress of course. After the few days the Five and Po had been reading their master's memoirs, he began to feel the effects and sluggishness of an extended period without training. So, he took it upon himself to rouse all but the currently frail feline early the next morning, and whip them back into shape…if only for a few hours.

Truth be told, he was just as curious as everyone else about where their master's story would go. So far, it seemed that Shifu's life story had taken many turns in just his first twenty years of life, and the bird wondered how many more curveballs he could take. It was heartening to know their master had such close and compassionate friends, but it saddened him to think what might have happened to them.

For one, _if_ Dong Li and Li were in fact the same person, why did he move so far away from his oldest and closest friend? Why had Shifu never mentioned Song? Or why he had never mentioned Zigsa? Had the snow leopard gone down the same dark path as Tai Lung? It seemed possible, and in Crane's mind, it was also entirely possible that Zigsa was in some way related to the crazed (and likely deceased) Master of the Thousand Scrolls. But was he his father? He had no idea.

These same questions had to be burning in his comrade's minds as well. Training provided a way to clear their minds, but they were still clearly distracted. They trained from well before dawn until mid-morning before he made the executive decision to return to the bunkhouse. It was unusually cold that morning, and the sky had filled with the light-grey clouds that threatened to bring yet more snow. In Crane's experience, it looked like a near-blizzard was coming their way. When the first flakes began to fall, he called a halt to the training session; there was another reason too: he was beginning to feel sore. He was sure everyone else was as well, and rather than overextend themselves (like Tigress would have done), he decided rest was the best course of action.

Besides, he wanted to continue Shifu's story.

Once they had awoken Tigress, bundled her up and sat in the room they had come to call "The Reading Room", Crane took up the next scroll, opening it slowly and began to read the next chapter.

* * *

We made excellent time. By the next morning after breaking camp, I began to see landmarks I was familiar with. Soon after dawn, I recognized rice paddies in the distance, the tiered terraces on the steep hillsides verdant with the young sprouts. Thankfully, it looked like the violence had yet to reach my village. The fate of the other villages was yet to be known.

We slowed our pace, the six of us, after I reminded them how strangers were so feared. If we had come in a flurry of activity and made a show of force, shock and awe wouldn't be the only reaction from the villagers; some might turn violent. Having Ochir and Zigsa there didn't help, and neither did Ren's presence; I'm afraid his very species put him at a disadvantage.

Before long, we noticed villagers coming from their homes. They spotted us, regarded us fearfully, until one, a ram and his family, recognized me.

"Good heavens, is that Tzu's boy? Land sakes, you're the spitting image, only much taller!"

I smiled, "Yes, I am. I'm Fu, his youngest, these are my friends; we just came from the Jade Palace, in the Valley of Peace…"

"So far! Why, it must have taken you weeks to get here!"

I tried hiding the self-satisfied smirk, "You'd be surprised. How is my family?"

"They are well; which is why I'm surprised to see you. There have been no deaths or sicknesses, thank heavens, and we are in no immediate danger from bandits…"

My friends and I shared a significant look. Did the villagers _not_ know the danger they were in? Zigsa looked ready to inform the ram of the dire situation, but Song elbowed his lower ribs to keep him quiet; it would not do anyone any favors to worry them. As much as we feared what would happen if the Huns entered the Zhou villages, spreading panic would only exacerbate the situation.

After wishing him well, we continued further into the village, catching stares from others, who whispered amongst each other. I saw Zigsa smirking, and I asked, "What are they saying?"

He chuckled, "They think I'm here to take a soul into the afterlife."

"Be serious."

"You think I'm not?"

Song shook her head, "Once they know why we're here, they'll warm up to us…"

"Doubtful," Li snorted. "I have a feeling they'll panic."

"Better safe than sorry," Ochir muttered.

* * *

Before long, my house came into view. I remembered it clearly: the vegetable garden in front, the wind chimes hanging from the front eaves, the lattice windows and the pungent odor of the spicy foods the region was known for wafting on the air. As we got closer, I saw two women I did not recognize, red pandas like myself, watching a young child playing in the grass. One of them looked up, spotted us, and grabbed the other's arm. The other immediately grabbed her yearling tot, holding him to her breast.

It took me a minute, but I realized these had to be my sisters-in-law and nephew. I approached first, "Hello, my name is Fu…"

The younger one, a pleasant-looking female with a dimpled smile, greeted me warmly. I figured her to be Second Brother's wife; she and Second Brother must have just gotten married. I was a little miffed I hadn't been invited. The slightly older female regarded me suspiciously; no doubt as to what Elder Brother had told her about me.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"I came to visit."

"On what grounds?"

"Why do I need a reason?"

I could see the unspoken words in her eyes: _you're not welcome here_. Well, perhaps I wasn't welcome by Elder Brother, but the rest of my family shouldn't be so bitter. At least I hoped not.

Then my mother appeared in the doorway. She let out a shout and ran towards me, embracing me tightly, "Thank the gods! I was so worried!"

"I'm fine, Mama, I didn't travel alone."

She spied my friends, smiling, "No you most certainly didn't. How are you all? Li, you've grown so much! Song, you just grow lovelier each time I see you. And Ochir…dear me, you look too big to be anyone's son! Er, if you'll pardon my rudeness…"

Ochir laughed, "Not at all ma'am; you'd be surprised how often I get that."

Then she looked at Zigsa and Ren, and her face paled a bit, not that I blamed her. Both warriors looked quite intimidating. "I know your faces," she said. "But for the life of me, I can't recall your names…"

"I'm Jian Ren, son of Master Jian Qiang; we met at the tournament five years ago," Ren explained. "This is Zigsa…he's harmless."

"Overgrown kitten," the snow leopard joked, though a little unconvincingly. But my mother didn't seem to notice, or at least it didn't bother her as much as I feared it would.

"Of course, please, come in, I'll send someone to fetch your father…you have much to discuss."

I pulled her aside and asked, "Is everything alright?"

She sighed, and I knew it wouldn't be good news. "We've heard reports from the north…I'm quite fearful."

"I know, that's why we're here."

"You can't mean to fight them! Son, you'll most surely be killed!" she exclaimed quietly, not wanting to alarm her daughters-in-law. The youngest still looked anxious, and the elder was grim-faced; I didn't entirely like the look of her, while she was pretty, she had a look of narrow-mindedness about her. _A perfect match for Elder Brother_, I thought bitterly.

Not all of us could fit inside the small house, but it was a nice enough day to sit out under an eave, drinking tea and talking with my mother and getting to know my sisters-in-law. I got to play with my young nephew, the tot only a year old, and my niece—Elder Brother's firstborn, two years old—played not too far from me.

I confess I paid more attention to my niece; heaven knew that in the country, she would have a harder life. You see, part of the reason, I later learned, why girls are considered inferior is that families essentially raise them for other families. There is no economic gain from having a girl, since she would just move out upon marriage and her family would have to provide a dowry. My two female cousins had been married out by then, and from what I learned later, their husbands' families sent goods to make up for the loss of a worker in the home; trading rice and salt for a sentient being. After spending so much time training with a woman, I felt this was a terrible way to look at femininity. I decided that day that, should I ever marry and have a daughter, I would treat her as I would treat a son. She would marry for love, I decided, not money.

I came to love my younger (and most recent) sister-in-law almost instantly. She had a pleasant demeanor that reminded me much of Second Brother's easy-going nature. She smiled a lot, tittered at the jokes we told, and was fascinated by the stories we told of our training and life in the Valley of Peace. I could tell from her expressions how she wished to visit, but she probably thought it would be improper to say so; the wedding must have been a very short time ago. Both sisters-in-law were fascinated by Song, who made no secret of her derision for how women were treated as commodities.

We heard a shout, and I saw Second Brother running up the hill to our house. He had a wide grin plastered on his face; Father and Uncle were right behind him, and, as expected, Elder Brother was at the end of the line, as stony-faced as the last time we saw each other.

Second Brother threw his arms around me, giving me a squeeze. "I can't believe it! We sent word just last week, and here you are! Didn't you rest?"

"Somewhat," I confessed. I watched him lean down and kiss his wife's cheek, and she blushed shyly from the open display of affection; that warmed my heart more than I could ever say. They looked like happy newlyweds.

Elder Brother paid no attention to his wife or children, but continued to glare at me. "You dragged us from the fields for this? Over a stupid rumor?"

Father berated him, "Rumor or not, something this serious is not to be taken lightly! And you will show respect to your brother!"

Elder Brother shut his mouth. Father was still the person with the highest rank in our family, and disobeying him was tantamount to treason. This wouldn't make our reunion any easier.

Mother excused herself, taking the two women and the children into the house, leaving us time to talk. The men of my family and my friends sat in a circle by the garden and exchanged news. They asked us of the Valley and the Palace, and how our training was progressing. I didn't have the heart to tell them that I might not be named a master because I disobeyed my master, and that my friends had taken the same risk. In addition, they told us that growing concerns of invasion had expedited Second Brother's wedding, and the couple had been married only a week; they didn't want to risk anything happening to the bride before her wedding day. Song and I shared a look, and we knew what nonsense that was. The real reason was that an unmarried girl who died before her wedding was supposed to become a hungry ghost upon death. My heart went out to the poor thing.

Finally, we got to the most pressing matter.

"What have you heard?"

Father sighed wearily, sharing a look with Uncle. "It is not good news. A scout came from the camp of two masters…Jian and Red…something…"

"Jian Qiang and Red Claw?" Song offered.

"Yes, that was it. The Huns are closer than we expected."

"How close?" Zigsa asked.

"Two days, maybe less."

I felt my stomach lurch, "And you haven't evacuated?!"

"Lower your voice!" he hissed. "It won't do to upset your mother and sisters-in-law."

"You have to be mad," Song scolded. "They'd be more upset if they woke up tomorrow with the Huns at their door!"

"What would you have me do? The village headman won't do anything."

"Damned idiot," Zigsa swore. "If you stay here, it's certain death. Anyone without training in battle will die."

My father's face paled, and my brothers were silent on the matter. Uncle spoke up, "So what should we do?"

"Evacuate," Ren said. "There has to be someplace you can go."

"Where?" Elder Brother challenged. "Did you see any safe havens around here? Traveling with women and children would make us an easy target."

"We're an easier target if we stay," Second Brother pointed out. "I agree. We need to leave."

Ochir was scanning the landscape. "You might have a chance in the mountains."

I winced; the four other red pandas were immediately up at arms. "You're mad!"

"We'd freeze! Or starve!"

"There's no way we could survive!"

Zigsa interrupted. "What mountain is the one closest to the village?"

"What?"

"What's the name of the closest mountain?"

"_Tai Lung Shan_," my father answered. "Mount Tai Lung; legend has it there's a dragon that lives there, in a fortress of gold and milk-white jade…"

Zigsa grinned, flashing his sharp white teeth, instantly frightening my family members. "Oh don't worry…I know what's really up there."

Song smirked, "You've got a plan."

"I _do_ have a plan. We'll evacuate alright, because I know what really lies up there…"

"How?" Elder Brother asked.

"Because he's a snow leopard," I pointed out. "He knows mountains better than anyone."

He turned his face to my father, "Damn what your headman says, tell the villagers that the Huns are coming, and they need to leave everything. I can take you to a safe haven, a place the Huns will never go."

"You're taking us to our graves," my father warned.

"Not yours, no…" Zigsa said cryptically. "Not yours at all…"

* * *

"Okay, what the hell did you mean by 'not your graves'?" Song berated him later. It made sense they butted heads: she was water, he was fire. They were purely incompatible. But I was pondering the same question. Whose graves was our feline compatriot referring to?

We were eating a mild meal that the female red pandas had provided; it wasn't much, but we were grateful for it nonetheless. Zigsa shoveled rice, black beans and pickles into his mouth, then answered after swallowing,

"I know the stories of almost every mountain in this range. I was born not far from here, on Mount Hua Zhou."

"So what's the story with this place?" Ochir asked.

"The story about the dragon, for sure, but that's not what's really up there," he took a long drink of water. "There's a fortress about halfway up Mount Tai Lung. It used to be a stronghold for a snow leopard clan that has since been decimated, some say completely destroyed. Its lain deserted for over a hundred years, but it's the perfect place to keep them." He smirked. "If there's one thing you can count on with Huns, it's that they're very superstitious. If they think the place is haunted, they're not going anywhere near it."

I smiled hopefully, "So they really will be safe up there?"

"They should be—I'm going with them."

We all stared at him. Li gulped, "But…you're one of our best fighters. You're the only one who knows how to fight Huns."

"Li's right, we'll need you on the battlefield…" Song said worriedly.

Zigsa sighed, "Like it or not, I've got to keep my priorities straight. I think you'll agree that the welfare of these villagers is a little more important…"

"Then let me take them up," Ren pleaded with him. "I'm not as skilled as you are. Li's right, that if you have experience fighting Huns, you should be there. I can watch over the villagers…"

"No, you won't know the way up to the fortress."

"No offense," the wolf pointed out, "But you're, ah…visually impaired."

"So?" he challenged.

"So how would you find your way on a mountain you've never visited?"

"I've got my ways. I'm not blind. I just can't see."

I shared a look with everyone else; it was pointless to argue with him. With that fire personality, he was dead-set on going through with this, and wasn't budging. But secretly, I think we were all glad he wasn't going into battle with us. I knew _I_ was happy. I didn't want to know what kind of a fighter he was, or how brutal he could really be.

"Is there any other reason why you're not joining us in battle?" Ochir asked. "At least, any reason we should know about?"

"I have my priorities straight," he answered curtly, "and that's all you need to know."

* * *

"I'm worried about him," Song confessed to me later. I was showing her around the village, while the others rested and prepared to go rendezvous with Jian Qiang and Red Claw. I was nervous, I admit, being in such close proximity, and alone, with her. We were catching stares; because we were unmarried, everyone thought it incredibly improper, and I could only imagine the things they were thinking about her…and, consequently, me.

But the villagers right now were not what most concerned us.

I sighed, "Am I the only one who notices he seems more distant lately?"

"It's because he's not a master, Fu. We both know how deeply that affects him."

"But he's not ready, none of us are. I think Master Oogway just wants us to be prepared for the challenges of becoming masters, or is at least waiting for us to prove ourselves worthy."

"That's what bothers me," she said, her blue eyes gazing into mine. She looked truly worried for Zigsa, and I couldn't blame her. "If he wanted to prove himself so badly, he would come with us to battle. How else could he prove himself?"

I thought about that. Why else would Master Oogway keep him from…then I remembered what my master had confided in me.

"Master Oogway has been worried about his soul," I told her. I felt a little guilty for confessing something my master had told me in confidence, but I needed someone level-headed to talk to, and she was the most level-headed of any of my friends. "He's been worried for a long time. He thinks that he's got a lot of darkness in him. Maybe…" I considered aloud, "Maybe Zigsa thinks he can't prove himself to Oogway in battle, but through peaceful means…"

"You mean, his protecting the villagers is his way of proving himself?" she sighed, her brows knitted with concern. "You know what that means, right?"

"No, what?"

"Fu, it's a suicide mission."

I stopped short, "_What_?"

"Think about it: he's leading these villagers into the mountains, alone. I don't think he expects to come back alive."

"He wouldn't take them if he didn't think it was safe!" I paused. "Would he?"

"No, he's too honest to risk _their_ lives like that," she smiled…almost fondly. "He wouldn't do something like that; it would be dishonorable."

Song was right; he wouldn't allow anything to happen to the villagers. As for himself…well, the potential for his martyrdom was now a concern.

"Someone else should go with him," I stated. "If one of us is with him, there's one more person protecting the villagers, and him, too."

She nodded, then delivered the blow: "I'll go."

"What!" I stared at her.

She looked back at me and shook her head, "Oh, don't look at me like that…you, Li and Ochir are the best fighters…"

"No, _you_ are the best. You've _always_ been the best. Ever since you knocked out my teeth when we were five, you've been the best." She giggled at the memory. "You might not be as strong as Ochir, or as swift as Li, but you're still amazing!"

"Fu, I know my abilities," she sighed, "But I'm the only one Zigsa will listen to. I have to go, it can't be anyone else."

I winced. She was right. The snow leopard was so stubborn at times that only Song could reason with him. She used her water personality to control the fire in his.

"You're still the best wielder of the _pudao_ I've ever known."

She smiled, but in a suspiciously smug way. Like she was hiding something.

"Song?"

"Yes, Fu?"

"Is there something I don't know?"

"We brought weapons with us."

"Yeah, I gathered that, but is there…"

She was smiling, but also looked at little embarrassed. "Well, before we left, we…ah, we kinda raided the Sacred Hall of Warriors…"

Oh no.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, "What did you take?"

"Li took the ninja equipment made by the father of Lady Lotus Blossom, you know the story, the one Master Dog saved? Ochir took the twin hammers of Master Ox, I got the Golden Spear and Zigsa took the Golden Shield from the Legendary Battle of Fire Monkey Pass…"

I should have been appalled that he had swiped the only physical proof of a battle fought long before our time, and that it was so sacred a relic. Instead, I asked, "_Just_ a shield?"

"Have you _seen_ his claws?"

"Good point."

"And we also swiped the Sword of Heroes…for you."

Now, I was scandalized that they had stolen—stolen!—mystical weapons from right under our master's nose, but I couldn't help being strangely touched that they thought so well of me as to bring such a remarkable weapon for my use in battle.

"You…you took _that_ sword, for _me_?"

She blushed a little, "It was my idea. I know you're the best of the best when it comes to fighting with a staff, but…well, this is war, and wars aren't won with staves. I'd feel better if you took that sword into combat. And you've proven to be very good with a butterfly sword; and a warrior's only as strong as his weapon, right?"

Not true. It was—and still is—the other way around.

"But what about you?"

"I'll keep the lance for protection," she explained. "Zigsa might be confident that we won't be bothered up there, but I have a bad feeling something could go horribly wrong."

"Song," I reasoned, "Two warriors, even if it's you and Zigsa, if Huns were bold enough to climb the mountain…"

"Then lets not think about it, okay?" she soothed. "It's too nice a day to be worried about stuff like that."

I was feeling worse than when I'd first set foot over the threshold of my father's house that day. Part of me was glad she was staying out of the battle, where she ran the danger of being captured, killed, or worse, considering she was a woman. I think I understood the rationale for keeping women out of the military. Now, it may not have been right, but I could respect that men wanted to protect the women in their families from the shame of violation and death by an enemy's hands. I knew from Song that a woman could be just as good at fighting as a man—probably better, in certain circumstances—but the thought of her being picked up and carried off by a Hun to be used for his own perverse intents turned my insides upside down. Hopefully, she would forgive me for being glad she was staying out of the fight.

"Fu!"

I turned and saw Second Brother running towards me; he looked frantic. "Fu, there are two men, scouts, a wolf and a tiger, back at the house!"

"Where did they come from?" Song asked.

He pointed, "Over the mountains…" he looked ashen as he gasped out. "They say the Huns will be here by dawn."

* * *

We ran back to the house, noting that Ochir, Li, Ren and Zigsa had already started getting everyone ready to evacuate. While the villagers were initially suspicious of the snow leopard, his reputation had preceded him. Apparently "Zigsa the Reformer" was more well-known than even _he _knew. Rhino and snow leopard continued on with the task of preparation.

"Take only what you can carry! Leave your valuables here!" Ochir stopped a sheep from trying to tug a cart out of the mud. "Leave it! Your lives are more important!"

"Li!" I called. "The hell is going on?"

He and Ren shared a look before he answered. "Master Jian Qiang and Master Red Claw…they're here from the front."

This wasn't good.

"Why are they here?" Song asked. "Shouldn't they be fighting?"

"They had to fall back," Zigsa said, hurrying a family of rabbits along. "Once we get the villagers ready, I'll take them up…"

"I'm going with you," Song spoke up.

"No, you're staying here," he said sternly.

"No, I'm coming with you."

"Song, I'm not going to argue with you," the snow leopard frowned.

She crossed her arms, "If you're not going to argue, then shut up."

Li bit his lip to keep from laughing. Zigsa scowled. "You're a stubborn little wench, you know that?"

"I'm probably worse than you."

Zigsa turned to me, "She's not going to back down, is she?"

I shook my head, "I tried reasoning with her. Trust me, its futile. She's going with you."

He contemplated it for a moment, then sighed in defeat. "Fine, we're meeting at the village gates." He turned to me, Li and Ren. "Grab Ochir and get over to the headman's house. The masters are there, and they want to talk battle strategy with you."

"What makes them think we know anything about that?" I asked.

He shrugged, "Beats the hell out of me."

"Why aren't you going?" Li asked him.

Zigsa was uncharacteristically silent on the matter, and walked away without answering him.

* * *

The headman's house was the largest in the village, but that wasn't saying much. It had maybe five rooms, with a kitchen in a separate building from the main house. But it was the ideal place for kung fu masters and disciples to stake out and draw up battle plans.

My first impressions of Master Red Claw were, I admit, not kind. He hardly looked Chinese judging by the way he carried himself. He had a rounder face than most tigers, and a great hulking body frame that could have been confused for a rhino rather than a feline. He had to have been as muscular as Ochir, but with a pair of thin slits for eyes, jet black and carrying the sharp edge of flint. His fur was almost white with age, but the dark brown stripes were still clearly visible, and yet his body was remarkably clear of battle scars. The tiger's eyes were set close together, denoting narrow-mindedness, but it was the sharp tongue that surprised me most as he barked out to some villagers to hurry along. Master or no master, if he had given _my_ family an order, I would have taken him out.

Master Jian Qiang looked much the same as I remembered him, with salt-and-pepper fur, more white than grey now, making him appear much older than he actually was. He also looked quite exhausted. Clearly the last battle had not gone well. He was relieved to see his son, embracing him close, and embracing Li as well. Li was as grateful for his former mentor's well-being as the wolf was for him.

"Praise to heaven that you all made it here safely," the lupine master said. "We were afraid the Huns had gone around…they seem to prefer those pincer movements."

"Is it true the Huns are that close?" Li asked. Master Qiang sighed, "Yes, unfortunately. They're relentless, even for Huns. I've never seen them fight like this. Usually they know when to quit, but they fight like maddened men! I can't understand it…I've never seen anything like it."

"Its Khan," Red Claw snorted. "Their 'illustrious leader' and so-called Mongol Emperor, the fool thinks he can create a Mongolian Empire that makes China pale in comparison, and look, he needs to invade us in order to realize this dream!"

Such propaganda was normal; most Chinese had very little love for the peoples of the Steppes. Part of it had to do with them being strangers, and the suspicions of any stranger to our lands, but there were also those who looked down on them for being nomads. Surely no civilized culture lived in tents. This was what Red Claw—and most Chinese—believed. This is what I believed for the longest time. But even such cultures that leave behind no monuments are still cultures. And in the case of the Huns, theirs was not a culture easily ignored. How and why they fought so ferociously now was beyond my understanding. Qiang was right: from the stories we'd heard from Zigsa, most Huns knew when to give up, and the ones who didn't had nothing to live for anyway.

Red Claw turned to the doorway of the main living room when Zigsa stepped in to announce, "I have all the villagers waiting at the gates, we're ready to depart."

"Everyone's accounted for?" I asked.

"That I know of…"

"I'll help you out in a minute…" Song said.

Zigsa made a face, "A minute? Song, we barely have time as it is…"

"Zigsa?" Red Claw asked suddenly.

I saw my comrade freeze, a stricken look on his face. Immediately he turned towards the sound of the tiger's voice and kowtowed, knocking his forehead against the floor, "Master! Forgive me, I had no idea…"

No idea? How could he not know the tiger was there? Even if he were blind, Zigsa could still sense someone's presence…at least I thought he could.

The tiger scoffed, "That's the whole point: not letting your opponent 'see' you until the moment is right. You've changed very little since I saw you last, Zigsa…" his round face broke into a smile. "But, that name probably doesn't apply anymore, does it? So, what name has Oogway bestowed upon you?"

Li, Song, Ochir and I held our breath. Ren and his father exchanged a look, and Qiang looked concerned when he got the implication. Zigsa was silent, but Red Claw ignored it, or at least did not acknowledge the snow leopard's silence as guilt.

"Come now, there's no need to be humble about it. What name do I call you, Master?"

Zigsa sat up a bit, hanging his head, biting his lip nervously. "I…I'm not."

The tiger was silent. "Excuse me?"

Zigsa bit down on his lip harder, speaking up, his voice wavering slightly, "I'm not a master."

Red Claw stared at him, then started chuckling humorlessly, "Ah, I see, this must be some sort of joke, isn't it? You know, jokes are intended to be funny…"

"Master Oogway has not named me as a master," Zigsa said with mock calm; he looked so nervous, I swore I could hear his heart hammering in his chest.

The stillness and the silence in the air reminded me of a graveyard, with all the gravity of one as well. Red Claw's expression was unreadable for a moment, then he looked enraged, roaring, "WHAT?"

"Easy, Red," Qiang said calmly. "_None_ of them are masters yet. Song is not yet nineteen. Perhaps Oogway is waiting until she reaches the age of twenty, then will name them all masters then, just like he did with Terbish, Li and I."

"I should have never sent you to that crazy old codger," Red Claw seethed. "How _dare_ he slight _my_ student!"

Qiang narrowed his eyes, "He's not your student anymore. He stopped being your student the moment you left him in Oogway's care!"

"I trained that boy to be the best fighter for decades! He was ready to be a master when he was fifteen! And now what? He's twenty-five…"

"Twenty-four, sir," Zigsa corrected quietly.

"…and still is just a student!" he continued his rant, ignoring his former student.

"Red, it is not your decision to make," the wolf said sternly. "If Oogway doesn't think Zigsa is ready, then he's not ready, and we need to respect that…"

"Bull!" the tiger roared. "That old coot wants proof, does he? He'll get it! Once he hears how many Huns that boy has killed in battle, he will be the glory of China, right?" he directed the question to the snow leopard.

I'm fairly certain that the five of us were inwardly screaming loud obscenities over the ringing in our ears, but Zigsa's had to be the loudest by far. The snow leopard couldn't even raise his head as he confessed, "I'm not fighting."

Red Claw sneered, "What did I tell you about jokes needing to be funny?"

"I'm not joking, sir. I'm not fighting. I'm taking the villagers to safety."

The tension was so thick, I doubt even the Sword of Heroes could have cut through it. In the next moment, we knew why Zigsa was so nervous around this tiger.

"You're running away," he said coldly.

"Sir, I'm taking the civilians to safety, out of the way," he covered, desperately grabbing for something placate the tiger's temper.

There was a hard edge in the tiger's voice, thinly slicing away at Zigsa's resolve like an obsidian knife through flesh. "I trained you to be the best of the best. You learned seventy-five different ways to kill someone _with one finger_! You could take on the Great Khan himself without losing a single hair on your body, and instead of proving your worth as a warrior, you're running away like a spineless _coward_?!"

"I am not a coward," he said evenly, but it sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

"You'd rather run with women and children and weak men than prove your worth?!" the tiger roared.

To this day I don't know what possessed me to do what I did next. I stood up and snapped, "Don't you _dare_ call my family weak! I am _not_ going to sit here and listen to you insult my ancestral home. And my friends and I, all of us, we're _not_ going to tolerate you insulting Zigsa either!"

Red Claw froze, narrowing his eyes at me, but I stood tall. I took on Tiny the Gorilla five years before, and my kung fu had improved by leaps and bounds since then. But I won't deny that I was intimidated by this tiger.

"What did you say to me…_punk_?" The tiger jumped back when Ochir stood, blowing air through his nostrils.

"What're you, deaf?" Ochir asked, getting in the big cat's face "I think he was pretty clear. And by the by, stop acting like Zigsa ain't in this room."

"Really, now?" he mocked. "Fine, if that's how you want it…" he grabbed Zigsa by the collar of his robe and dragged him forcibly to his feet. He brought him within a whisker's breadth of his face and hissed, "You're an embarrassment, do you hear me? _You are a disgrace_."

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone jumped when Master Jian Qiang snarled savagely. He stood between the tiger and his former opponent, acid on his tongue as he lashed out at the tiger, "_You're_ the embarrassment. You embarrass _me_, and you embarrass _yourself_."

"This doesn't concern you, Jian," the tiger growled. "You should mind your own business."

"Bite me," he snarled. "I'm not looking the other way. Not this time."

"You dare challenge me?"

"Are you really that conceited?" he challenged, "Or am I just lucky?"

Red Claw hissed at him, "Don't forget, Jian, I own you. You owe me too much."

"My debt was repaid a long time ago. I don't owe you a damn thing, _cat_," he spat out words like a serpent's venom. We all expected the tiger to completely lose himself, but instead, he took a few deep breaths (anger management, I assumed) and glared at the wolf.

"How I deal with my student…"

"Maybe Ochir's right—you are deaf." Qiang gritted out the next words, enunciating each one. "He is not your student. Now _back off_."

I thought he was suicidal; had to be. But to my surprise, the hulking behemoth of a tiger backed down. Out of the corner of my eye, both Li and Ren looked pale, the canines gripping each other's hand. Then I saw why.

Jian Qiang's eyes were flashing dangerously with a dark light I had never seen before. Even though there was a thin smile on his lips, it was those eyes that scared—terrified—me. _It is not often there is a bloodless war._ That was what Master Oogway had said about Qiang. But I was right in my initial assessment; he was slow to anger, but when he _did_ get angry…

But I was surprised. Zigsa had almost killed him, so why was the wolf standing up for him?

Red Claw backed down, snarling and fled from the room. Master Qiang closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming himself down.

"Dad?" Ren asked calmly, and yet a little fearfully. "Are you okay? Should we leave?"

"No," he answered quickly, and he was back to his usual sunny self. "No, everything's fine. I'm just a little testy, being under so much pressure…" he turned to Zigsa, who still looked utterly destroyed by what Red Claw had said to him. I may have had my doubts about Master Jian Qiang's character, but in that moment, he earned my respect forever.

"Just ignore him, he's an old blowhard," he said to the snow leopard. "You might not care what I think, but I think it's admirable that you would help these people instead of killing…that takes courage."

"But I'm not fighting…"

"But that doesn't mean you've surrendered. There are different kinds of fights, lad, and not all of them require knowing how to stop someone's heart with a nerve attack."

It took a while, but a smile slowly tugged at Zigsa's lips; Qiang had forgiven him.

"I'm really sorry about…"

"The tournament? Don't worry about it, I probably deserved you handing me my ass."

"I almost killed you."

"If you had, it would've been my mistake too. I let my guard down. I didn't think Red Claw had taught you _everything_ he knew…" he rested his hand on the snow leopard's shoulder. "But in this one case, I'm glad you didn't listen to _every _lesson he taught you."

Zigsa sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging. I couldn't reason with what I had seen, I don't think any of us could. We were used to the snow leopard hiding his emotions under a thick cloak of bravado and what I assumed was conceit. In that instant, as we saw Red Claw strip away the protective barriers to the snow cat's heart, we realized that day that the cloak was as much to protect us as to protect himself. For many years, I thought that Zigsa most closely resembled Tai Lung, but upon my most recent reflection, he is most like Tigress, who, to my regret, slaved for years to gain the acceptance and love I had purposefully withheld.

Song was the first to make a move, stepping forward to lay her hand on his, "We'd better get going. _We_ might be able to travel quickly, but all the villagers won't."

He took another deep, shaky breath and stood a little straighter, murmuring distractedly. "Okay. Okay, you're right. Yeah, let's go."

Before he made it to the door, Ochir stood in his way. Having witnessed that scene, something had changed in the dynamic of their relationship, but I would not know the entirety of this change until many years later.

"For what its worth," Ochir said, "I think you're the most honorable warrior of the five of us."

There was the flicker of a smile on the feline's face, but just as quickly, he was back to strictly business. He turned back to us, "Remember, no mercy. The Huns won't give you such an advantage, don't allow them the same."

"You'll keep safe?" I asked. There was more to it than what I had said, but Zigsa apparently understood where my true concern lay. He turned his head slightly in Song's direction, then nodded, "Don't worry. Everyone you care about, I will make sure they're safe. For their sake, stay safe too."

With that parting, he and Song left, sprinting along down the path to the village gates. For the briefest moment, as I watched them go, Song turned around and looked back at me. She looked forlorn and worried, but still offered me a hopeful smile, then mouthed, "Good luck."

I only waved. My arm felt as heavy as the rest of my body as the gravity of the situation sunk in. in the distance, over the mountain peaks, I saw black smoke wafting on the wind. Zigsa was leading the people in the other direction, towards Mount Tai Lung. I little knew the significance that mountain would have on my life, but for now, it was the haven necessary for my family's survival. I depended on it for strength. I needed to believe that everything would be all right. But as is often the case, sometimes dread and worry overtakes common sense.

Li rested his hand on my shoulder. "She'll be fine. Zigsa won't let anything happen to her."

I sighed, "I know. I just can't help but…"

"I know. We're a team. It won't be the same."

Master Jian Qiang quickly ushered us out of the house, "Come on, kids, we don't have much time. We need to get to the front."

Li turned to the wolf, "Is it as bad as we fear?"

The wolf looked like he wanted to lie, but instead, he sighed raggedly. "It's worse."

* * *

We plodded along to the front lines, the five of us, Master Jian Qiang and Ren leading the way. I kept stopping to look back. As dusk neared, we could see lights on the side of the mountain, a long string of gold flecks like fireflies on a summer's night. The villagers had made good time, and I was sure Zigsa was taking them at double the pace to ensure they were safely out of harm's way. I wondered about my family, how they were holding up. I wondered about Song, if she was struggling to keep calm whilst showing off a mask of strength so as not to alarm the very people she was trying to protect.

I didn't think I would ever be as strong as she was. Had it been me, I would never have been able to hide the agitation I felt.

Within the span of an hour, we saw the combined armies of Qiang and Red Claw, but to our delight, we also saw very welcome banners.

Ren let out a whoop of celebration. "The Imperial Army!"

Qiang let out the breath he'd been holding, "Thank heaven. Come on, we need to get down there, quickly."

We hurried down the slope of the mountain path, and upon reaching the foothills, we progressed quickly through the camp, warriors and soldiers of every shape and species making way for us. The General was not difficult to find. He was a tiger, the brother of the Emperor. It was not unusual. Brothers of the emperor were made kings and princes of various provinces, and some, like this one, were made into generals. But this tiger was different. Smaller in stature than Red Claw, but there was a streak in him that I recognized. When he saw me, we shared a knowing look: we were both small, but crafty.

"Master Jian Qiang, it has been a while," the General said formally, in a diplomatic way that was so unlike the direct approach of most military men.

"Too long indeed. We didn't expect you to make it," the wolf replied, embracing him like a brother.

"We couldn't risk the Huns getting any further. My men are ready to fight with dawn's first light."

"Will the Huns wait that long?" Ren asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine. I have scouts assessing the situation. I should hear back soon enough."

"Sir," I asked. "What are our chances?"

"Who may I ask…?" the General asked Qiang.

"These three are students of Grandmaster Oogway. Ochir is Master Terbish's boy, and Li here is the son of the late Hu Shan. The red panda, Fu, is here to protect his natal village and family."

"Defying his master's wishes to serve his filial duty," the tiger smiled thinly at me. "I thought there was something I liked about you."

"You don't doubt my abilities?" I asked.

"Son, what kind of General would I be if I believed that numbers alone won wars?"

"I bet they help," Ochir muttered.

"The Imperial family puts all their trust in Grandmaster Oogway, and any and all of his students," the General answered him coolly. "If the Son of Heaven believes in your abilities, then I believe in them."

Kind words, but I think Li, Ochir and I all wondered if that faith could be upheld.

* * *

I couldn't sleep. Neither could Li, who had snuck out of the tent we were sharing to spend some time with Ren, the two sitting in front of a fire, talking quietly amongst themselves. Ochir was off somewhere, I couldn't tell where. As for me, I gave up after hours of tossing and turning, deciding a walk would clear my head and settle my nerves.

I didn't walk far from the outskirts of the camp before I found Master Jian Qiang leaning against a tree, staring up at the stars. His ears flicked, catching my footfalls. I made sure to announce myself.

"Master?"

"Couldn't sleep either, could you?"

I shook my head. He patted the ground next to him. "Come sit, I would be glad for the company."

As I took my seat, I reached out to him, knowing I needed to speak to someone with wisdom. Perhaps I was worrying too much, and everything would be fine. Or perhaps, if Qiang couldn't sleep, it really was as bad as I feared.

"Do we have a chance tomorrow?"

"Khan comes with a hundred thousand strong. We have barely half that. The General may be confident we can win, but I have my doubts. Not all of these soldiers have seen battle before…"

"Like the three of us."

"I'm not holding that against you. I think Oogway sheltered you too much. The world is a harsh place, no doubt, and I feel terrible that your first battle is against the most formidable enemy China has ever faced."

"What is this Khan like?"

"Ruthless. He makes Red Claw look like a kitten playing with a ball of yarn," he answered wryly. As humorous as it was to imagine the terrifying Red Claw as a tiger cub entangled in yarn, that also bothered me a great deal, knowing that the Great Khan was _worse_. "Is that why you're worried?"

"I'm worried because I've never seen fighting like this before. I knew Huns were not afraid of death, but I would think they usually have something to live for. In the last few moments, before death, I see regret and fear in their eyes. Not this time. This time, they go to death with no fear…it makes me wonder what changed. Or have I changed? I don't know the answer." After a pause, he confessed, "I wish your friends Song and Zigsa were here."

"You do?" I asked, surprised.

He nodded, "Song is the best wielder of the _pudao_ I have ever seen. She surpasses her mother…" he said with sadness in his tone.

"I know Song's capable…but I'm glad I won't see Zigsa fight. The way he talks…I'm afraid of what he becomes when he goes into battle. Master Oogway said there was darkness in him…" I confessed.

Qiang sighed and shook his head, "I think I know what Oogway was talking about. The darkness inside him is not vice, or anger, but desperation. You see, the only thing holding Zigsa back is his yearning for approval from Red Claw. Red Claw is never going to give him what he wants, no matter what Zigsa does. Oogway probably didn't want to make him a master yet _because_ of Red Claw."

"So, this whole time…all he wanted was for his master to be proud of him?" I asked.

"I'm sure Red Claw was proud at one time, but the years had made him bitter; it is my hope Zigsa doesn't give in to that darkness."

"But Zigsa fought for justice…isn't that a good thing? Shouldn't that make Red Claw proud?"

"Justice is always a good thing. The problem is that it can overrule itself. Do the ends really justify the means? Can there be injustice in the way to meet justice? It doesn't matter the circumstances; someone is always going to be slighted."

I thought this over, but I was more curious now. "I think I should confess…we overheard you and Miao Li arguing that night, five years ago."

Qiang smirked, "I thought that was you. Oogway told me you had a habit of that. Its okay, I don't mind, at least not as much as I did then."

"Do you still love her?"

"Fu, I loved her the minute she first socked me in the mouth." He chuckled, "Song reminds me so much of her. You're a very lucky young man."

I blushed, "Uh, actually, we're not…"

He smiled knowingly, "Not yet, you're not. But if and when you do take the plunge, just keep in mind that whatever you two may have may not be forever. It will seem tough to remember that, but I'm telling you this for your own good. Don't fall in love with Song. Matter of fact, don't love anyone. Love is like a fine wine..."

"It gets better with age?"

"Well, yes, but that's not what I was going for… Love is like wine, because if you take too much of it, you feel great at first, but take too much, it will make you do things you will eventually regret. Too much of it can kill you. You're better off avoiding it altogether."

"But Master Oogway says that love is the most powerful force in the universe. Shouldn't that count for something?"

"It would, if love didn't also hurt you. Like any power, it corrupts, and is a double-edged sword. Love never lasts forever. Once it's gone, you crave more and more of it, until you're nothing more than a raging addict desperate for a hit. Love can uplift, but it can also destroy. I'm telling you now, you're better off without it."

"But I love Song."

There, I had admitted it. It was out in the open, and that thought alone terrified me.

Qiang hung his head and sighed heavily. When he looked up, he looked me right in the eye, "Then I hope for your sake that love is enough motivation to live tomorrow."

"Am I going to do things I will regret?" I wondered.

"Its war, Fu, everyone does something they aren't proud of. I've done things I'm not proud of. Zigsa, from what I've heard, has done things he's not proud of."

"What about Master Red Claw?"

He laughed bitterly. "Him? He has nothing left to regret. He doesn't frighten me."

"What did he mean earlier, when he said…"

"He seems to think I owe him something," he cut me off, not wanting to go into it. "I repaid my debts to him years ago, and he no longer has any hold over me. He has no hold over my family, and he sure as hell has no hold over my loved ones. You ignore him, Fu. If he gives you an order, defy it."

"But…"

"I'm telling you this for your own good. If you want to live to see twilight, you will defy every order he gives you. Do you understand?"

I didn't, but I nodded anyway. Whatever Red Claw was planning, whatever his motivation, I worried what effect it would have on tomorrow's battle. The tales heralding the tiger's exploits now seemed like total and complete lies. I felt cheated, and wished desperately that Master Qiang was the one calling the shots and leading us to victory.

But for a moment, as I looked back in the direction we had come, I also took back my earlier wish of not having Song and Zigsa there. I fervently wished they had come, especially Song. She was the only one who could calm me, reassure me, but she was miles away.

If I was to survive, I needed to depend on myself.

* * *

"Well, he obviously lived," Mantis reasoned. "So maybe that pep talk did something."

"Let's hope so," Monkey said. "But what about Song and Zigsa? I'm surprised they didn't go into battle."

Po spoke up, "Can you honestly say you wouldn't have done the same thing if you were them?"

No one said a word.

* * *

That's it for this chapter. The battle takes place next chapter! Please read and review!

Oh, and yet another sign I'm a total nerd: Li's full name, Hu Li, is a pun. Those who know Chinese probably have already picked up on it. The word _hu-li_ in Mandarin means "fox". Song's surname, Miao, is also a pun. Say "Miao" out loud…sounds like "meow". Also a play on the Chinese word "mao" meaning "cat". (Interesting tidbit, did you know the Chinese word for "panda" literally translates as "bear-cat"?)

Yes, I'm a total and complete nerd, but God knows there's going to be more puns before this thing's over. (I still have no clue what Tai Lung's name actually means, and Chinese/English dictionaries are not very helpful. Any takers?)

To my American readers: have a happy and safe Thanksgiving, especially if you are traveling to see your family. To my international friends, have a great weekend! To all, take care of yourselves. Until next time… - Luna


	10. Chapter 10

Own nothing but the OCs, and I also regret nothing.

I want to thank everyone who supported me while I wasn't feeling well, you guys are the best! Thank you all for your support!

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

* * *

Chapter 10

* * *

"He's his father," Tigress said suddenly over lunch.

"Whose father?" Viper asked.

"Zigsa, he _has_ to be Tai Lung's father."

"There's no proof of that," Crane reasoned.

"There's no proof that he _isn't_." Tigress crossed her arms stubbornly. "There are too many coincidences. I can't shake the feeling they are related. And what is this garbage about Zigsa being like me? I'm not the one with questionable morals…"

"No," Mantis said, "But then again, you're also not the only person in kung fu history who's ever craved their master's support."

Po looked across the table at Tigress. He'd only been at the Jade Palace for a few short months, and he was no closer to the feline than he had been the day he'd first arrived. He hearkened back to what Monkey had said about her, how this behavior was normal. The panda wondered what exactly had happened to her, to make her so closed-off from everyone else. Surely Tigress was smart enough to know she couldn't go through life alone, that she needed to depend on other people sometimes. That was the point of being a part of a team, in Po's mind.

Then again, no one ever said the _leader_ of that team ever needed to be equal. Generals were never equal with the enlisted, and students were never their master's equals.

But they all had to start somewhere.

Master Shifu had started there, and had he not said in his own memoirs that he was never Oogway's equal? Po recalled that while the tortoise sage had always referred to the red panda as "my friend" or "old friend", Shifu always called Oogway "Master", with a capital M. To see him referring to the tortoise as just "Oogway" throughout the text seemed uncharacteristic. Perhaps Shifu changed after his Master's passing? Perhaps he had finally seen them as equals after—what was it? Sixty-five years? It was a long time to know someone.

Po was surprised by many things. While not at all surprised to know his master was stubborn since birth, the panda was surprised to find that he had quite the independent and adventurous streak. He had even defied his master's orders—and Po had never known Oogway to give orders. Suggestions, yes, and hints, most certainly…but orders, never. Or, well, almost never.

When first meeting Shifu, Po knew the old master was _not_ pleased with his new student. Po may have known all there _was_ to know about kung fu without being a practitioner, but he wasn't in any shape to call himself a fighter. But Oogway had started off slow and deliberate, while Shifu got right down to business immediately. Granted, that was probably because he was trying to get rid of him the quickest way possible. Po could sympathize; spending years training students in the ancient art, only to have some _big fat oaf_ steal the title from someone who had devoted their entire lives to such an achievement…it would have been as if Po's father had suddenly decided to turn over the restaurant to the lucky one millionth customer.

In that respect, he could understand where both Shifu _and_ Tigress were coming from.

But for all that he had learned, the one thing he could not—and probably would never—get over was the fact that for all his self-assuredness, and for all the outward implications of confidence, Shifu had always—_always_—second-guessed himself. He doubted his abilities, and lacked faith on numerous occasions. He was most certainly the "least-Zen Zen master".

But that was still heartening to the Dragon Warrior. It meant that he and Shifu really were more alike than he ever expected. Po had spent his entire life wanting to be something, but never believed in himself. And now he knew, so did Shifu.

* * *

An hour before dawn, all of us gave up the fight for sleep. Ochir, Li, Ren and I sat around a small camp fire, slowly nibbling at a bland breakfast. My stomach was churning so much from nerves, I doubt any of it would stay down. Li had put his bowl down and was strapping knives and throwing stars to his belt, and counting the arrows in his quiver distractedly. Ochir started wrapping his knuckles, clenching and unclenching his fists. Ren seemed the calmest of the four of us, but his breaths were too deep, too slow to have been natural; when Li gripped the wolf's hand, I realized he was shaking.

Such is the way of those poor souls at the dawn of their first battle. We were young, stupid, poor, poor foolish bastards, all of us. What had we known about battle, about war, except from what our master had told us? What did we know of valor and honor? Everything we had believed up to that moment would be torn down at the first clash of steel against steel, at the arrow's first flight, at the first crack of thunder rolling across the plain.

That was the day of no dawn.

The skies opened up on us just as the dark night began to turn into grey morning. The soldiers of the Three Armies stood along the line, we students standing together near Ren's father. The wolf grimly looked down over the valley, the plain verdant and green, a beautiful sight in any other circumstance, with wildflowers blooming and bowing gently into the wind. Rain began pattering against the ground, like a mother's soft kisses to assuage her child's fears, but then the wind kicked up, blowing rain and leaves into our faces, soaking us through.

As suddenly as the storm had swept across the mountains and descended on us, a bolt of lightning lit up the sky, the bolt branching out, light rolling under the thick black clouds, crackling in the air.

And over the ridge we saw them. A thin line of them, but there they were.

There weren't as many as I thought there'd be.

Then the lightning struck again.

And there were the rest.

We all gasped.

Qiang wasn't kidding. There were easily over fifty thousand of them. Only half of their forces…and more were visible over the ridge.

And at the center of the line was a tall and imposing white figure. Though we had never seen him, we knew who he was instantly.

Dressed in little more than rags, and—we were horrified to see—the furs of his slain enemies, the white of his fur was natural, something he'd had his whole life. It had earned him the name "White Devil". But to us, the white wolf standing at the front and middle of the line, grasping White Lightning, his feared legendary blade, he was simply known as Khan.

The Great Khan.

Master Qiang turned to us, barking out the order, "Stand your ground! Do not strike until they strike!"

I gulped, feeling bile rising in my throat. I was absolutely terrified now, and didn't think I could do this. I couldn't, how could I? All those Huns, most of them probably emerging from the womb with gnashing teeth and striking claws, and then there was me. I didn't stand a chance. I tried reminding myself that I had doubted my chances against the gorilla five years before, but that was different. There were rules in that arena. This was war. There were no rules.

A scout raised his voice and I was shocked out of my reverie by the archers around us drawing arrows and aiming for the sky.

"HOLD!" Qiang ordered. "Lower your weapons!"

I looked up and saw something circling the sky. With another flash of lightning, the figure in the sky dived, swooping down to Qiang.

The archers tightened their grips as the Mongol falcon came closer.

"I SAID LOWER YOUR DAMNED WEAPONS!" Qiang snarled.

The whole line jumped back in shock at his outburst. Li put his hand on my shoulder, looking as pale as the moon. The Mongol falcon narrowed his keen eyes at the ranks then turned to Master Qiang.

"Master Jian Qiang, I presume?"

We gasped.

The falcon was female.

The Huns let their _women_ fight as well? Clearly, if their women were as fierce as this one _looked_…we were screwed.

Qiang looked as surprised as we all did. "Ah, yes, I am. You are?"

"I am Borte, of the Eastern Golden Eagle clan. Your reputation precedes you." Her voice was strong and firm, for truly, she was someone used to giving orders.

"What of my reputation?" he asked coolly, his hand straying to his sword.

"That you are a level-headed, peace-loving man, who tires of war, and cares more for diplomacy than violence."

He stayed his hand. "Too bad that too much diplomacy induces violence."

"Only when dealing with idiots," she quipped. "Idiots, in my experience, are all that makes up a government."

He couldn't help but smirk a little, his hand resting on the sword's hilt. "You're here to parlay then?"

"Don't insult me, wolf," she snapped, the mood broken. "I am here to give you one last chance: get out of our way, let us through. We mean no harm…"

"No harm! You're invading China!" he scoffed.

"Invade?" she asked, sounding mystified. "Where do you hear such talk? Do you believe everything you are told?"

"I believe what I see."

"Seeing isn't always believing, Master Jian," she answered coolly. "I have tried explaining myself to your Master Red Claw, and I will give you the same warning I gave him: if you do not abandon this foolish war now, you will not live to see the end of this day. The Emperor of China has deceived the Peoples of the Steppes for the last time."

"I know nothing of any deceit," he replied. "That is a matter between your leader and the Son of Heaven. I am here to protect my home. I am a soldier of China, and it is my filial duty to protect the fatherland."

"Motherland," she corrected.

"_Father_land," he restated. The falcon narrowed her eyes at him then spread her wings. She cast her golden eyes over to the four of us, and she looked surprised a moment. For a split moment, I swore something, perhaps it was only my imagination, but something…connected. Like the electricity in the air had somehow swept through our bodies.

She looked at Ochir, studying him a moment, then finally blinked and turned back to Master Qiang. "You will not leave?"

"I will never surrender."

"I am not asking you to surrender. I am asking you to stand aside."

"That is also not going to happen."

"Then you had better begin digging your own graves now," she warned. "We will not have the time to do it for you."

"You don't intimidate me," he said.

"Is that what you think this is about?" she asked. "Truly, I used to believe Mongol men had the thickest skulls. No matter, if that is what you truly wish, then we would be happy to smash in all these pretty heads—mayhap common sense will be able to sink in afterwards."

"Tell Khan we are ready for him."

She turned away, spreading her wings wide. It was a silent signal that she saw us as so little a threat, she was unafraid to turn her back to us. She flapped her wings once, readying herself for flight.

"Qiang, you don't know _what_ you're ready for," she said, casting one last look over her shoulder. "In another time…perhaps…" she shook her head, stopping that thought. "We will not give you mercy."

"I don't expect it."

With that, she launched herself off the branch and soared through the valley, flying right back to the side of the Great Khan. Qiang watched her go, then turned to us. He looked like he was about to ask us something, then thought better of it and turned away.

Ochir's heavy hand landed on my shoulder and yanked me back to the back of the line. Ren and Li had been dragged back with him. "Hey! Ochir, what the hell?!"

He stopped long enough to make sure no one was listening in before hissing, "I don't like this. Something smells rotten here."

"Seriously. You'd think with a big-ass wall between us, the Huns wouldn't even bother," Li suggested.

"Exactly," our friend nodded. "That falcon, something she said…there's more to this battle than what Red Claw's letting on."

"What about Master Qiang?" I asked.

Ochir paused, looking at Ren, then whispered, "If he knows anything, it's probably not _everything_." He took hold of us and pulled us along again, this time going the long way around the column.

"What're you doing?!" Li hissed.

"Stalling. We're going to get to the bottom of this."

"Red Claw won't give us that opportunity," Ren warned. "He'll attack."

"You let me worry about Red Claw," Ochir said, holding up the Twin Hammers of Master Ox. "Fu, you and Li are the swiftest on foot, and you can hide pretty easily. Get back to the Huns' lines, or at least try to find that falcon lady. The sooner we know the truth, the better."

"You don't think Red Claw's telling the truth?" Ren asked.

"He's got it out for Huns everywhere," Ochir said. "Besides, did you _see_ that bird?"

We pondered over the meaning behind his words, then it struck us. I should have realized it from the thinness of her frame, the dullness of her plumage, and the heavy breathing…

I looked at Li, who stared back in muted shock. Ren voiced our thoughts: "They're starving. The Huns are starving."

"She looked like she hadn't eaten in days," Li said.

"Impossible," I said. "They've been marching right through the food stores of the empire! How could they be starving?!"

Ren stared out into space for a moment, the cursed loudly. "Shit! How could I be so stupid! Ochir, go find Red Claw, we need to stop this battle! Fu, Li, get across the valley to parlay with Khan. Don't stop for anyone, get to Khan, and Khan alone!"

"Won't he kill us?" Li asked.

Ren grabbed his wrist and wrapped a white cloth around his arm. "Not if you wear these. Khan might be merciless, but he knows how we Chinese fight battles." He looked into Li's eyes, and I don't think I could convey in mere words on paper the emotions behind that wolf's gaze as he looked upon the man he loved. Nor can I express the myriad emotions that were underlying when he told Li, "Be careful."

He wrapped a white cloth around my wrist and shook my hand resolutely. "Get in, and get out. I can't guarantee your safety…"

"We'll do our best. I still don't know what you want us to do…" I said.

"Stall. We need to get to the bottom of this. Tell Khan who you are. The rest will fall into place. Now go, you don't have much time."

"Ren," Li grasped his hand.

"Li, you need to get going…" he was cut off when Li pressed his lips against the wolf's. Ren's eyes widened a moment, but he instantly wrapped his arms around the smaller canine and returned the kiss. Li pulled away quickly, offered a small smile then turned to run down into the valley.

"Keep him safe," Ren begged me.

"I promise."

And I meant it.

* * *

Getting through the ranks wasn't easy. Ochir had made it over to Red Claw, alerting Master Qiang and drawing attention away from us. Ren had run to his father and dragged him away, to where, I couldn't guess. But it was clear from our vantage point that Red Claw was not pleased Ochir was questioning his authority. Even while the massive rhino was bearing down on the equally imposing tiger, Li and I managed to sneak past the perimeter of the army, slipping past soldiers too busy watching and waiting for the tiger to give Ochir what he had coming. As far as a distraction goes, I don't think we could have afforded better. I thought we were in the clear until we made it past one of Red Claw's guards. The ox spotted us, and raised the alarm: "DESERTERS!"

I cursed, and Li cursed as well, only louder. With that, our sneaking around developed into a full run. We dashed past the last ranks, literally kicking and screaming to freedom. We expected our side to not want us to desert, or to do this suicide mission, but we expected the _other_ side to want to do us harm. I heard a hearty yell and the clang of steel against steel, and a chanced look over my shoulder saw Ochir and Red Claw locked in battle. He was buying us more time.

A monk's spade slammed into the soil in front of me, stopping me short. A rhino I didn't recognize stood over me, roaring out a battle cry. I kicked out, snapping the pole weapon in half, and using the other end of it to knock him out. As easy as it would have been to draw the Sword of Heroes, I couldn't kill a comrade; it wasn't like he was trying to kill me after all.

Li grabbed my wrist and yanked me along. "Come on, MOVE IT!"

"Li, they're not going to ki—"

Then we heard the chilling words roared over the melee, Red Claw ordering, "KILL THE DESERTERS!"

"Oh shit," I cursed.

"KEEP MOVING!" Li yelled. Suddenly, trying to prevent this battle didn't seem like such an inviting situation. I knew I would be putting my own life on the line, but I expected to face danger from Huns. Instead, Li and I were racing across the battle field, trampling grass and flowers in a desperate attempt to find sanctuary with the enemy.

A shout, and I turned to look back—big mistake. I tripped and fell, and to my horror, the already dark sky was completely blotted out by the bitter black of arrows…all descending right towards me.

All I remember was a whoosh of air, like a heavy exhale, and suddenly I felt very light. So this is what death is like, I thought. But I looked to the arrow-clad grass below, and the talons gripping my arms suddenly registered.

"Peace, warrior," Borte ordered. "Grab your friend." She dove straight to the ground, gliding along the grasses towards Li, who was still running. We grabbed hold of each other, and Borte ascended with a mighty push from her wingspan. We were amazed at her strength as she lifted the both of us effortlessly, sailing higher and higher in the air, defying nature's wrathful lightning strikes. At another time, I would have marveled at the beauty of the valley floor, yet untainted by blood, and the white and black juxtaposition of the clouds and lightning strikes, but I was still too concerned with living.

Suddenly she dived, straight down over the ramshackle ranks of the Huns. Then without warning, she dropped us.

Li and I recovered with enough time to land on our feet, or at least as gracefully as we could from a twenty-foot fall. When the dust at our feet cleared, we saw a pair of booted feet standing firm like the roots of a mighty oak. Together, he and I looked up the figure, clad in the skins of his slain enemies, bears, wolves, and various other creatures. Even the mane of a lion he wore as a hood, and at his collar—I paled to see—the tails of a red pandas and a foxes. He was savage, but it was his face that surprised us.

The Great Khan was rather short for a wolf, but what he lacked in height, he made up for in bulky, thick muscles, and green eyes as sharp as the crack of a whip, or shattered obsidian. The white wolf had thin facial hair on his weather-beaten face, and it made him look older than he actually was. He was actually no older than Master Jian Qiang.

One of his soldiers said something to him in their language, and whatever it was, it sounded accusatory, demanding…dangerous. The wolf held up his hand for silence. Then he began circling us. Li and I shared a look, but tried not to show fear. We were in the proverbial lion's den, and heaven only knew if we'd escape alive.

Borte landed on the wolf's shoulder, said something to him in Mongolian, then he grabbed me by the front of my robe, bringing me face to face with him. I was amazed at the look in his eyes. He didn't look stupid, like I expected a barbarian to be. He looked…almost intelligent.

"China must not be treating their men well, to have two of their own desert them," he said mockingly, his accent thick. "How the mighty are falling…"

"We didn't desert," I growled. "We're trying to stop this battle from happening."

His eyes flicked over across the field at the in-fighting on the other side, "A battle between the Huns and the Han, you are successful. Too bad you could not stop your own petty squabble." He dropped me unceremoniously, but I recovered, landing on my feet and drawing the Sword of Heroes. The Huns that had formed a circle around us drew back with sharp breaths. Even Borte looked shocked. Khan's jaw had dropped.

"The Sword of Heroes…" he breathed. He did something I didn't expect: he knelt, touching his head to the ground in reverence; all around us, the Huns in the circle's perimeter all bowed as well. When he rose, our eyes locked, his searching, mine trying to show I was not going to back down. I never understood how eyes could be the "Windows to the Soul", because I had never been able to discern any secret message by looking into someone's eyes. Perhaps that was a talent (or skill?) that required years of practice, or being good at reading people, an instinct perhaps that was relegated to those most in touch with nature…like Khan…and like Oogway.

"You…" he looked at me, "You are not from around here."

"Yes I am," I said, though I was surprised by how calmly I said it. "My natal village is at risk. I am here to protect my family, and my home."

"You do not live there the whole time?" he asked. It must have seemed like the simplest thing in the world to him. If someone had a foundation, why bother moving? A nomad's simplistic thinking, apparently. If you bother to lay a firm foundation, moving away after putting all that work into making your home was akin to throwing away a perfectly good pail of water after walking for miles to find it.

"My friend and I…we're disciples of kung fu."

"Who is your master?" he asked, interrupting, his savage eyes still trained on the blade.

"Master Oogway."

I was not expecting that collective gasp. Neither was Li, who looked at me in surprise. I shrugged. I had no idea what was going on.

Khan's light green eyes were wide, mouth agape. "Students of Grandmaster Oogway himself…"

"Wait," Li stopped him. "You _know_ Oogway?"

"Of course I know Oogway!" Khan barked at him. "Only one living under a rock the past nine hundred years has _not_ heard of Oogway. The Great Tortoise, the One Who Watches Us, the Protector of the North…his is the first name on the tongues of each Mongol child, invoking a great protector..."

"What did Oogway ever do for you?" I asked.

"He has taught us mercy," Borte said. "He has taught us grace."

"Bullshit," Li snapped. "Where is there mercy in…_this_?" he demanded, indicating the war. "You've killed innocent civilians and for what? Land? Territory?! How is that mercy?!"

Li gulped when Khan drew his sword, leveling it at the fox's throat. "I could have killed you for insulting me, but like I said, your master has always taught mercy. Now, answer me this: why should I bother to listen to you, aside from being students of the Great Tortoise? I have sent my most trusted right hand to parlay, to convince you Chinese to let us pass through."

"We're not letting that happen," I snapped. "You put my family in danger…"

"And what do you think _that_ is?!" he snapped, pointing to the back of the column.

Simultaneously, I think both Li and I felt our stomachs fill with lead, then nausea crept in, and lightheadedness from the shock.

The Huns—the fighters—were actually _fewer_ than the forces our side had. There were at most thirty thousand able-bodied men, and even that was stretching it, if the near-emaciated condition of their bodies was any indication. The rest of that hundred thousand…were women and children.

"You…your families travel _with_ you?"

"_Nomads_," Khan reminded us with an arched eyebrow.

"Yeah, I know _that_, but," I said quickly, "You take them with you on _campaign_?"

This time, it was his turn to look surprised, and very confused, "Campaign?"

"Yeah, dude," Li said, pointing to his guards. "Armed to the teeth, hundred thousand strong, climbing over the Great Wall to invade…"

"Who said we were invading?" Borte asked, looking insulted.

"Uh…well," I said, sheathing the Sword of Heroes, "Generally, when one army enters the territory of another state with a massive force of arms, that's usually called an _invasion_."

"This is no army!"

"Again," Li said, pointing at two very intimidating lions. "_Armed to the teeth_."

"We have no need to explain ourselves to you," Borte said sharply.

"Well clearly what we have here is a failure to communicate," Li retorted, "Because everyone in China thinks you're here to take over!"

"Lies!" Khan scoffed. "I sent scouts to your capital, asking your Emperor for permission to enter his country."

"And you thought it'd be that easy, that he'd just _give_ you that permission?" I asked skeptically.

"Like it or not, boy, we Mongols know something of diplomacy. We were told that we could move south and winter here."

Now I was confused.

"Wait," I stopped, holding up a hand. "Wait…you mean to tell me this is a _vacation_?"

"Oh, yes," he said sarcastically, "My idea of a vacation is bringing my entire clan to southern China, hundreds of miles from home, because of a famine."

"Famine?" my friend and I chorused.

Khan looked at the two of us like we had to be simpletons. "Yes, as much as it pains me, I _had to ask for help_ from my _enemy_, or my people would have _starved_. It doesn't get any simpler than that! He took mercy on us, sent word with one of his own scouts that we could move south, gather food, then return once the famine was over."

"So you're…not trying to invade and/or kill us?" Li asked.

"That was never the intention!" the wolf snorted.

"But there have been battles!" I cried. "People died!"

"It's not our fault you Chinese don't have a reliable inter-province system of communication for the benefit of free information."

"Huh?"

Borte placed her wing on Khan's shoulder, "Temujin, I don't think these boys are acting…they must not truly know. It could explain why we have been met with resistance this whole time."

"We had a pass from the Emperor," Khan snapped. "That should be good enough for them!"

"They trust the word of their Emperor over our own," she reminded him.

"Is it not the same thing?!" he demanded.

"Actually, its not," Li said honestly. "We grew up hearing stories of your savagery…"

"And the treachery of your Emperor rivals the numbers I have killed."

"You take that back!" Li snarled.

"Temujin!"

"WHAT?" he snapped, whirling on Borte. The falcon pointed her wing across the battlefield.

"The children!"

"What?!"

Li and I stared incredulously across the way and saw the unmistakable uniforms of the Imperial army as they surrounded the Mongol camp. When had they mobilized, and how, without our knowing, without seeing? Li looked across the valley and saw the charge. Imperial soldiers before us, and soldiers behind us, and to this day, I am uncertain how they did it. What _was_ certain, and Li put it oh so eloquently, "Shit, we're surrounded."

"How?" Khan asked, bewildered.

"Simple, really."

In an instant, before we could react, rough hands grabbed us and threw us to the ground. Swords flashed and slaughtered Khan's strongest men instantly, but Li, Khan, Borte and myself were left alone, shoved facedown into the dirt. I struggled to look up and saw Red Claw, a smug smile on his face. The tiger grabbed the Mongol leader and held him by the lapel, a good two feet off the ground.

"It figures, you barbarians are too stupid to see anything other than at face value. Deceit is not one of your strengths…imagine, if there's one thing I can say about you, Khan…you're too honest," he laughed derisively, "and too trusting, as well. Your scouts never made it to the Forbidden City."

The white wolf's eyes widened, perplexed until the savage tiger explained, "We intercepted them. Oh, but don't worry, they are well."

"Liar!" Borte screamed, flapping her wings wildly and snapping her beak at her captors, both of whom struggled to hold her down. "What did you do with them?" she shrieked.

"When I say they are well, of course, I meant they are better off than where they _were_…"

It didn't register right away, but he had tortured them, and now they were dead. I raised my voice, "Intercepting correspondence to the Emperor is high treason!"

I cried out when he kicked dirt in my face, but I was lucky that was all he did. "What the Emperor doesn't know won't hurt him," he replied. "Besides, hearing that the bad growing season from last year also affected our 'friends' to the north," he smiled maliciously at Khan, "gave me all I needed to wipe out this little pest, once and for all."

I couldn't see Khan's expression from where I was, but I wager he felt as sick as I did.

Red Claw had purposefully invited the Huns into Chinese territory, erroneously alerted the army of an 'invasion', put millions of innocent people in danger, lied to the Emperor, and now deceived the very people he had served with. He had intentionally brought the Huns into China, with every intention of wiping them out. His goal was complete and utter genocide.

Behind the tiger, I saw Master Jian Qiang being held fast between two rhinos; Ochir was nowhere to be found. My heart sunk. What had Red Claw done to him?

"Red Claw, you lying bastard!" Qiang snarled. "This has gone too far! You never said _anything_ about women and children!"

"When we entered this partnership twenty-five years ago, you swore yourself to me, Jian," the tiger said, releasing Khan into the hands of two imperial guards. Turning to Qiang, the tiger reminded, "You swore undying loyalty."

"That was when you had sanity and good sense. This goes against everything we were ever taught!" Qiang bit back. "This is _murder_!"

Red Claw got into his face and hissed, "No. This is _war_."

"War still has rules, Red," he shot back, "This is wrong, and you know it!"

"Wrong? How can you _possibly_ think it wrong?" he asked, ironically morally outraged. "When a Hun killed your wife in a raid fifteen years ago, you swore vengeance. You wanted every Mongol dead. Well, now's your chance, Jian."

"I was grieving," the wolf said. "I wasn't thinking straight, and I regret how I felt. As heartbroken as I was, and still am, that doesn't make this right!"

"Think of your son, Qiang," the tiger said, almost tenderly. "Think of Ren… He grew up without a mother. Would you want him to have to face what you have? You would do anything to protect him, wouldn't you?"

"Ren is a man now," Li spat at him. "He doesn't need to be protected!" His outburst earned him a swift punch to the stomach from one of the guards. Red Claw just ignored him, but Master Qiang appeared to be in deep thought.

"This is all on you, Jian. It is so easy, so simple…I can give you a sword, and you kill the Great Khan yourself, right here, in front of his men, in front of his entire nation…imagine it, that with one strike, the mighty Mongols fall."

Qiang was shaking his head, staring at the ground and mouthing "no" over and over again. He looked like he couldn't believe this was happening.

"It's now or never, Jian."

He finally looked up, the dark rage burning in his eyes. "Never."

Red Claw shook his head, clucking his tongue. "A shame…oh, and Jian? Surely you know…this isn't personal." Suddenly, he tore the wolf from the rhinos' grasps and threw him like a rag doll, the wolf landing with a hard thud against the ground a few yards away.

"Master Qiang!" Li shouted in alarm. "Red Claw, you son of a bitch! I hope the devil drags you down himself!"

"Aren't you a little low on the hierarchy to be mouthing off?" he snarled, unsheathing his claws.

I felt one of the hands of my captors slip, and I took my chance. I struck up, grabbing the hapless creature by the nostrils and flipped him over my shoulder. I stood quickly, drawing out the Sword again and brandishing it at Red Claw. Li took the opportunity while his own captors were distracted and freed himself as well, lashing out and pinning them to the ground with his throwing stars. He drew an arrow and aimed at the tiger, and the two of us stood our ground.

Red Claw just laughed.

"You're even more foolish than I thought! It seems Oogway's been slipping these past few years…"

"That's _Master_ Oogway," I snapped. "And Master Qiang was right—you _are_ an embarrassment to kung fu! There is no honor in murder!"

"Murder? My boy, don't you realize what these _creatures_ have done?" He purposefully called them "creatures". Not People. They were lower than worms to him. And now, apparently, so were we. He continued, dishing out a twisted repertoire and stilted, disgusting rhetoric, making me sicker by the moment.

"I have never given them mercy, as they never gave me any. These hands," he held up his hands, still brilliantly crimson red after years of bloodshed, "Have seen more death than you can ever imagine. Khan has killed more innocents than I have killed Huns in my _entire_ career protecting our borders. I have seen that _monster_ cut down comrades, good men, good, law-abiding Chinese men, and ruined families…and now I am old. It is understandable, isn't it, that I do not wish future generations to lose sons, fathers, and husbands to these…_animals_?"

Li and I looked at each other. Finally my vulpine friend said to him, "You're one sick kitty, you know that?"

"This is murder," I stated. "They're innocents! _Women_ and _children_!"

"Children who will grow to be killers and women who spawn yet more of them," the tiger snarled, slowly prowling closer to us. "Look at them, pitiful creatures…_you_ look at them, and you pity them, but have they ever pitied _us_? Have they ever given us mercy? Have they ever stopped trying to take our land, our homes, our lives? Trust me, young man, once you think it over, you will know what is right, and you _will_ do the right thing."

The right thing.

As much as I hate to admit it, he had a point. Zigsa had a point. Anyone who had ever _fought_ Huns would have instantly agreed and allowed Red Claw to continue this massacre with a clear conscience. China and Mongolia had been enemies for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, and more lives had been lost fighting and running from Huns than from any epidemic or famine. More lives had been lost to this near-constant war, more families ruined, and hearts broken to this conflict than anything else China had ever faced. On the surface, eliminating the cause of the problem seemed to make the most sense.

The right thing.

I looked back at Li, who was staring at me. I knew he wanted me to say something, to _do_ something. The arm pulling the arrow against the twine was shaking slightly. I had no idea what to do.

"Fu," Red Claw ordered. "You _will_ do the right thing."

An order. He had ordered me to do the right thing. He had given me an order, and Master Qiang had told me to defy any order the tiger gave me. Instead, I obeyed.

I jumped up and slashed the Sword of Heroes across his face. He jumped back, spitting and yowling just like a common cat, then stared at me in shock through blood-soaked eyes. "W-what are you doing?!"

I answered him truthfully: "The right thing."

Chaos broke out in that next instant, when Li fired off his arrow towards the outer edges of the camp, through a torch, and into a cart filled with cannons. The resulting explosion was all the distraction Khan needed to mobilize his men and order a retreat. I didn't know the word "retreat" was even a part of their language, but apparently they believed as we Chinese believed, that discretion was the better part of valor.

The Huns that had not been slaughtered by Red Claw's men ran right back to their families, attacking the creatures that dared harm their wives and children. In a few cases, the mothers of small children (and in one notable case, a grandmother) took up arms and beat away their assailants single-handedly.

A fundamental thing that is always forgotten about war: both sides are more alike than they know, and yet try to kill each other over what will one day be seen as a stupid, asinine reason. To see the Huns protecting their families reminded me of what I had sacrificed to save my own. To see Mongol mothers comforting and protecting their children was to remind me of how my own mother would protect and care for me. Underneath it all, all peoples are inherently the same. Strip away culture, borders, laws and customs, and all people are the same.

Meanwhile, I was fighting for my life, and Red Claw wasn't making it easy. Those claws were the only weapon he needed, though he had his teeth as well. The honorable thing would have been to drop my weapon and fight him bare-handed.

But Oogway didn't train me to be a fool.

I covered for Li as the fox rushed to his old master's side, trying to prop up Qiang and get him out of harm's way. Khan rushed to the other wolf's side, ushering Li along, "You go! He is in good hands!"

A part of me doubted that, but as far as Red Claw was concerned, Li, Qiang and I were no better than Huns now, and we were better off being on Khan's side anyway. Li reentered the fray, letting out volley upon volley of arrows, intentionally hitting non-lethal areas of the opponents' bodies. The twin long knives of Master Dog served him well in close-quarter combat, though the bow still came in handy; he had learned quite a few things from his sparring with Ren.

As for myself, I was desperately trying to remember all the rules and techniques of swordplay to protect myself. Red Claw was unlike anyone I had ever faced. He no longer acted like a sentient being. He was a beast, unrestrained and giving Hell as if the flames were licking at his heels. Those claws looked sharper than the Sword of Heroes!

I reminded myself of the story behind the weapon I wielded, hoping it would give me strength. Once there were four brothers; three were warriors, one a blacksmith, whom his brothers ridiculed until they were defeated in battle. He had forged their weapons into the collective piece I had in hand, and with it, he defeated the bandits his brothers had lost against. If a simple blacksmith could defeat those thought undefeatable, then it stood to reason, so could I.

Then again, the tale never mentioned what species those bandits were. They also didn't mention whether or not those brothers were red pandas fighting against a giant Manchurian tiger. I had a feeling those four brothers had it easier than I did.

Red Claw swung his massive paw, catching me in the side, and I finally gave in to temptation, and stabbed straight into his stomach. He let out an agonized roar, falling back a few paces, holding his middle. I landed a short distance away, primed and ready to move in case he attacked. He merely pulled his hand away from the wound, seeing his paw stained with his own blood, then leaned against a boulder, shock on his features.

That was the first time I had ever drawn blood.

And it would never be the last time.

I felt my own blood seeping into my clothes and fur. I remember feeling a little dizzy and a lot of pain; it took all my strength to keep standing. Now I knew why Red Claw had such a high kill count. Had I not moved slightly to the left when I had, I would have received the full brunt of his attack, and been completely cut in two.

When we locked eyes, his bloodshot eyes narrowed even further and the growl in his throat erupted into a roar, and he bolted right towards me.

I didn't have any time to brace myself.

Then I saw Ochir.

Or, more rather, Red Claw _missed_ Ochir until the rhino seemingly _flew_ right into the path of the oncoming feline and delivered such a blow from his hammers that the cracking of bones in the tiger's face could be heard a mile away. Ochir had literally flown over my head and slammed into the tiger, letting out his own battle cry.

More bones crunched when Red Claw's body slammed into a huge boulder, leaving a spiders-web-like crater impressed in the rock.

I gaped, then gasped, "Where the _hell_ did you come from?"

Ochir turned and gave me a cheeky grin, "Fireworks can come in handy in the most unexpected way, just so you know. Just needed to calculate how much I needed based on my weight…"

"No lightning this time?" I smirked.

He winked, "Nah, savin' that for later. Where's Li?"

And speak of the devil, within the next second, our fox friend landed in a crouch between us, twisted around and fired off one more arrow, and only turned to us after he had heard an agonized cry. He looked at Ochir and asked nonchalantly, "'Sup?"

"You hangin' in there, fox?" Ochir asked.

"I'm hangin'. What happened over there?"

"A coup. The General had to retreat because his men had turned against him."

"These soldiers _do_ realize they tried to kill the brother of the _Emperor_, right?" I asked.

"They don't know he's still alive," Ochir said. "They think Ren did the deed to say that he'd 'been killed in the line of duty'. I sent him with Ren to warn Song and Zigsa; they took a few loyal soldiers with them. We need to get going, now."

"Why? What's going on?" I asked.

Ochir looked a little pale, "Red Claw figured out that we knew something was up…he sent some of the Imperial Guard to Mount Tai Lung."

His meaning was clear. Red Claw was going to make dead certain that no one would live to testify against him. If that meant slaughtering innocent farmers to make it look like Mongols had done it, then he would do it.

And Song and Zigsa had no clue. Red Claw knew exactly where they were, and it was likely Ren and the General would get there too late.

Red Claw suddenly surprised us, coming at us with one last burst of furious strength, claws raised to Ochir's jugular. He barely had any time to react, punching out with an open hand and hitting the tiger in the throat. The tiger stumbled back, gasping for air…and ran right into Master Qiang's waiting sword.

It was so quick, we were all stunned, utterly speechless. Qiang, to his credit, despite being badly beaten, had to have the last word. He spun the tiger around to look him in the eye. The wolf simply smiled warmly, patting the tiger's cheek like an old friend. "Oh, by the way, Red? This is nothing personal."

With that, he turned the tiger back around and yanked his sword out of the cat's back, dumping his body unceremoniously to the blood-soaked ground. The wolf held his side and ordered, "You three, get going, now. I can handle it from here. Go!"

We needed nothing further.

* * *

I had known of a shortcut the farmers used to take to get to some additional rice fields, on the other side of the mountains. It took us through a narrow ravine, with barely enough room for Ochir to run freely. When I had been younger, my father had taken my brothers and I through it, to show us the lands we would eventually cultivate after his passing.

The rice paddies lay bare this year, the result of the previous year's bad harvest.

It made our journey easier. Almost. We were constantly at risk of being buried alive by landslides or falling rocks. But as far as reaching the village and the mountain, it would place us ahead of the regiment sent to eradicate the entire village, wiping it off the map.

The trip from my village the night before the battle had taken four hours. With the pass, we made it in less than two. We rushed past my family's home, then looked back. The black smoke from the slash and burn campaign of the advancing army was just barely behind us. And Mount Tai Lung towered above and before us.

"Okay, so where the hell is this fortress that Zig was talking about?" Ochir asked.

I hadn't thought of that; the snow leopard knew where it was, but we had no clue. I slapped a hand to my forehead, "Damn it!"

"Guys, it's a _fortress_. It's not like it'll hard to miss!" Li pointed out.

"Li, most people don't make it halfway up this mountain!" I said. "Which is exactly where Zigsa said it was!"

"He wouldn't let the villagers get hurt," Ochir reasoned. "And my guess is that that clan he was talking about wouldn't make their home that easy to find…"

Perfect. So we had come all that way, only to find there was absolutely nothing we could do to get to our friends and the villagers in time to prevent a massacre. We threw ideas back and forth, each one more desperate than the last, until our options were exhausted. Mount Tai Lung was huge; it could take days, maybe weeks, to find _anything_ up there. Not having an idea where anything was didn't help matters either. I had never been up there, no one from my village had. If Zigsa could be believed, the snow leopard clan that had lived there would have kept anyone at bay. And he was blind for heaven's sake! Who knew where he had actually taken them!

I had begun to give up hope when I saw a splash of blue on a low-lying tree branch a few yards up the mountain.

Trotting up, I examined it closer. It was a strip of blue fabric, from the hem of Song's trousers. I looked around, and gradually I saw a pattern: further along, perhaps a hundred meters or so, I saw another strip of blue tied to a bush. Further along, one was tied to another tree branch. She must have marked the trail in case they got lost.

More importantly, she had left us a trail.

Ochir tore the fabric from the first tree branch. "What are you doing?!" I demanded. "How will we find our way back?"

"I'm not giving those guys back there a chance to find us so quickly." He sighed as I shot him a glare. "Look, just let me take the ones that can be seen from the foothills. As long as the village is in sight, we should be able to figure out our way."

"Sounds fair," Li said. "For good measure, tear down the trees—it'll block their path, slow them down. Fu, you lead the way, we'll fall back and trip the army up as best we can."

"But you're right behind me, right?"

"Relax, warrior," Ochir assured me, "Just stay in sight, and we'll follow. I for one am gonna make damn sure all five of us make it back to the Valley of Peace alive."

* * *

And so it was, as Crane rolled the scroll back up and set it aside in a neat pile. There had been so much emotion in that scroll, it conflicted with everything he and the others ever believed in.

"I can't believe Red Claw would sink so low…" Tigress said quietly, as if burdening herself with the guilt for her own species' savagery. "Fighting Mongol warriors is one thing…but killing women and children?"

"He believed it was a means to an end," Crane reasoned. "If all the Huns were gone, they would never bother China again."

"They still bother us," Mantis huffed. "But…as much of a pain as they are…"

"Genocide is never the answer," Monkey said.

Viper sighed, "At least Jian Qiang was nothing like that. And I'm so proud of Master for having the courage to do the right thing."

"I'm sure Oogway was too," Po said, smiling. "Sure, he probably wasn't happy Shifu ran away, but I bet he was proud that he stood up for the greater good."

"Still…I hope he got to his family in time," Viper said.

Po looked out the window at the darkening sky and got up to make dinner. He picked up the next scroll on his way to the kitchen. With a mischievous smile, he said, "Only one way to find out!"

* * *

Okie dokie folks, if you don't get an update either this Friday or next Friday (Dec 12)...please assume that 1) I am still alive, and 2) the holidays and/or work are taking out a huge chunk of my free time. I seem to be experiencing a bit of SWB (Seasonal Writer's Block) which should right itself after the craziness of the holidays. For the time being, please be kind, as I feel this chapter is not one of my best, but at least this story arch is almost over. Though damn it, now I need to keep coming up with villians for our heroes to face...

Anywho, please read and review. It always brightens my day (and this Christmas, I can use all the cheer I can get).


	11. Chapter 11

(Apologies for the long Author's note) I LIVE! This past week has been - while slightly crazy - very enjoyable. The reason I nearly fell off the face of the earth: I have not seen my significant other in MONTHS. He and I had a whole 9 glorious days together, and he is soon to be moving closer to DC (and me) to pursue his career. For what little time we had together, we enjoyed it immensely, and took advantage of every opportunity. I know I'll be seeing him again in another month or so, but I miss him already...

Now, on to less depressing matters:

Thanks to everyone who responded with my question about what Tai Lung's name means. I decided to go with "Ultimate Dragon", as I feel it's apropos to what I'm trying to accomplish (isn't creative risk fun?). As I understand it, Chinese is a tonal language, meaning that the same word (Let's use _li_ as an example) could mean any number of different words based on the pronunciation and the tone. So, for ease in writing and so that I don't end up confusing myself, I'm assuming Tai Lung means "ultimate dragon" :) So there, the authoress speaks, so shall it be (for this 'verse anyway)!

This is the end of this first story arc. And I'm working out the second one; it shouldn't be as heavy or deep as this one was. I want to have some fun, after all, and everyone appreciates comedy, right?

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

* * *

Chapter 11

* * *

Tigress ate her dinner in silence while everyone broke their fast with steamed dumplings and vegetable lo mein. Apparently Po could make more than just noodle soup. His lo mein was pretty good, she grudgingly admitted. He had thrown in scallions and tofu cubes with a light dash of soy sauce for flavor. The feline had to grudgingly admit a number of things about the panda since his arrival.

One, she had to admit he was improving in kung fu.

Two, she had to admit he was a really good cook. She'd never eaten anything so delicious before he had moved up to the Jade Palace, and, as much as she complained about it…she actually did like his noodle soup.

Probably not as much as Viper, though, who was fluttering her eyelashes at the panda, the serpent being blatantly obvious of her feelings despite her attempts at subtlety. When Shifu said she needed more of it, he wasn't kidding.

Okay, time to focus. Three, Po _did_ have a rather endearing sense of humor and childlike enthusiasm for kung fu. Okay, that was two in one, she had to confess.

Four (or five?), he was loyal…and a very good friend. Selfless, gentle, and had a knack for teaching children (she was still silently grateful he took over the beginner's class after Tigress tried and failed miserably to teach those bunnies, ducks and piglets). It wasn't that she was a bad teacher…she just hated children. She hated children when _she_ was a child. Children could be downright cruel, she knew from personal experience. Adults were crueler, they were just more restrained about it. Aside from that, she had little patience for those who couldn't pick it up right away.

Yet Po seemed to do just that. Anything he was taught, he picked up—and dare she say it, _mastered_—with an ease she had never seen before. Did that make her jealous? Undoubtedly. But jealousy was one of those _yin_ qualities that she had been fighting for years. Tigress wanted to be all _yang_—the obvious "disability" of her being a female notwithstanding, she had believed since she had first been adopted by Shifu that if she _acted_ like a boy, he would treat her as a real father would treat a valued son.

That had never happened.

The more she tried, the more it blew up in her face. The more she acted like a boy, the more it seemed Shifu would treat her like a little girl. She probably should have given up, but she refused to allow herself to fall into the trap of acting like a woman. The Three Obediences and Four Virtues made her angry enough to destroy a _thousand_ Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion (and she realized much too late that, if she just thought about them before fighting Tai Lung…she may have actually won).

And yet here was Po who, after a _week_, became like a son to her master. That was what made her so angry. Usually, when he was just being himself, she could tolerate Po; she appreciated his enthusiasm, his drive, and his sense of humor. It wasn't unusual for him to re-create his first run through the training hall just to get her to laugh…she liked that about him.

But when she saw him with Shifu…

Fine, she admitted to kicking around the Adversary when no one was around, feeling no small amount of satisfaction that it had been repainted in the image of a panda… And okay, _fine_, perhaps she was slightly harder on Po during sparring exercises during the time her jealousy raged.

But imagine, being jealous of a big fat panda! Tigress looked across the table and for a moment her eyes locked with Po's. She quickly looked away, slurping up some lo mein to keep from having to talk to him.

Naturally, he did the talking instead.

"So, when do you guys think Ochir's gonna get that armor with authentic battle damage?"

* * *

Our race up the mountain was slowed by the time we made it a quarter of the way up. The rain had slowed to a gentle mist, fog and low-lying clouds shielding us from sight, but also hindering our progress. The village barely in sight below, Ochir tore down two trees and crossed them in a giant X over the ground to mark the path of destruction he had made. Li and I had gone on ahead, following the blue ribbons. Soon, much to our relief, we began to notice signs of a trail.

The villagers had left a noticeable path that had not existed there before, and had done anything in their power to disguise it. But the trampled grasses and obvious numerous footprints in the mud were as clear to us as the spots on Zigsa's face.

Very soon, we weren't even bothering to look for blue ribbons; the path was clear enough that anyone would see it. This worried me a bit, but fortunately for us, as we looked back behind us, Red Claw's army—still oblivious to the news that he had been slain—were at least two hours behind us, and losing even more time thanks to Ochir's precautions.

We walked for perhaps another hour, making sure we left as little a trail as possible. The higher we went, the cooler it got. Much cooler. To our surprise, a third of the way up the slope, our breath began to crystallize in the air, and breathing became rather difficult. Mount Tai Lung wasn't even that tall, or that steep. It had been named "Ultimate Dragon" (or "Mighty Dragon", depending on whom you asked) because of the legend that a dragon had lived within it, buried under miles of rock in a cave that no one but the dragon could find. At one time, it was supposed to be a protector for the valley, but over time, people came to fear it. It is common enough. People fear what they do not understand; whatever they fear, the come to hate. It is my guess that misunderstanding is the cause for all trials in the world. If people sought to educate themselves, all troubles would cease. It is not my belief that suffering is caused by desire—not entirely.

The air became absolutely frigid. Rock gradually replaced soil and we were back to looking for the tell-tale blue ribbons Song had left for us. Very suddenly, the trail ended. We were lost.

"Damn it," Li cursed.

Ochir sighed raggedly, sucking down air laboriously. "There's no way the trail can end here…there's no sign of them, no camp, nothing. It's like they vanished into thin air," he said, leaning against a rock wall. He fell back with a yelp as the rock gave way, opening inward like a door on a well-oiled hinge. We gaped at the opening, lit with beeswax candles, and then saw the tracks on the ground—they led inside.

Our spirits were further lifted to find a blue ribbon tied to one of the sconces holding the candle.

I grinned. "The fortress!"

"Well I'll be damned," Ochir whistled, picking himself up. We stepped in, looking about. We were shocked to see painted murals on the walls, depicting the daily life of the snow leopard clan that had lived here for generations. The murals were well-preserved, and the paint's colors were still vivid, as if the clan had left the place just the day before. As soon as we stepped in, the stone door slammed shut, leaving us in relative darkness, the candles lighting our way.

"Well, nowhere else to go," I said. "Let's keep going; we're bound to find them eventually."

"I dunno," Li said. "Anyone else getting a chill?"

"Li," Ochir said sarcastically, blowing into his hands and rubbing his arms rapidly in a desperate attempt to warm himself up. "I've been feeling a chill after the first thousand feet!"

I walked on ahead, the scent of the beeswax overpowering, and the candle smoke stinging my eyes. The further down the passage we went, the brighter it became, but so too did our senses become overwhelmed. It got warmer too, which was unusual for being inside a mountain, underground. It was supposed to be getting _colder_.

We stopped suddenly, gazing in awe at the hall as it widened into an antechamber, the walls lined with vividly and painstakingly painted statues of fierce snow leopard warriors, all dressed in blues, indigos and silvery grey clothes—real fabric. I had heard of some cultures dress statues of their gods and worship them as if the gods lived in the sculptures.

Li and I were curious by nature, and walked closer to the still figures; Ochir stayed his ground, saying something about "feeling something was off" in that room. As I got closer to one particularly fearsome-looking "god" wielding a monk's spade in one hand, I peered up at the imposing figure, leaning closer for a better look.

Suddenly the god's eyes opened.

He wasn't a statue.

I jumped out of the way as the spade slammed into the floor where I had been standing moments before, sparks flying as the steel collided with the stonework. The other "statues" came to life as the snow leopards sprang into action. The door behind us slammed shut; we were trapped.

The three of us took on our fighting stances, and readied ourselves for a battle to the death.

"GET AWAY FROM THEM!"

The snow leopards froze, looking over to the other doorway before us. The oak door had slammed open, light flooding the antechamber.

Song stood there, wielding her _pudao_ and looking positively furious. She stormed in, snapping at the snow leopard holding the monk's spade.

"You so much as slice off a _hair_ on _either_ of them, and I'm dismembering all parts that make you male!" she hissed dangerously.

We shouldn't have been surprised when he pulled back, setting his weapon aside. She could be quite forceful when she needed to be. The other warriors laid down their arms as well after she explained, "These are the three others we told you about. They are friends."

"They came in the back entrance," one leopard said. "We assumed they were Huns."

"No, if they're here, the battle must have gone well," she looked over at me for confirmation. "Right?"

"Um, actually…there was no battle."

She narrowed her eyes, "What do you mean 'there was no battle'?"

"Song," I grasped her hand, "Something happened—something huge. We were betrayed."

"What?"

"Where's Zigsa? We need to tell you the whole story before Red Claw's army gets here…"

"Red Claw?" she interrupted. "Why would his army be coming?"

"He betrayed us!" Li seethed. Together, the three of us gave her the abridged version of what we had just experienced, and I watched as her eyes widened, face paled, then turned red with rage.

"That son of a bitch!" she seethed. "And now we're under siege from _his_ army?!"

"Maybe not," one of the snow leopards said. "There's a reason no one knows we still live here." He turned to us, "Come on, we'll take you to where the villagers are."

* * *

Further along the passage, Song briefed us on what had happened after they had left the village.

Zigsa apparently had no problem finding the place, as was his habit of keeping low to the ground, feeling vibrations in the earth through his fingertips. About halfway up the slope, he simply pressed his ear to the ground, and the rock face, then worked his way inside; he had been listening for a hollow sound through the ground, to indicate a cavern.

Naturally, this made the natives a little restless, until they discovered Zigsa was the last survivor of his clan. Fortunately for them, Zigsa's clan, and the clan of Mount Tai Lung had been ancient allies; finding shelter in light of the coming storm was far simpler than anyone expected.

For his part, Zigsa had not expected there to even _be_ inhabitants in the Dragon's Lair, as it was called. He'd only figured it out after hearing the activity below ground, and feeling the vibrations of life living in the subterranean domicile. Apparently we had never given his other four senses enough credit.

And for "Gods of Death", these snow leopards were actually rather pleasant, agreeable fellows. Perhaps they were a little overprotective of their home, but given the recent events, I could hardly blame them. The one armed with the monk's spade (and had tried to kill me) eventually apologized, citing his clan's long-time aversion to strangers.

We finally entered a huge hall, though it could scarcely be called that. It was a natural crystal cavern, with huge spires of growing stalagmites jutting up from the floor, quartz crystals embedded in the ancient rock. It was huge, and could have easily fit the population of the Valley of Peace and the Jade Palace. There was plenty of room for the villagers, and the first to greet us, thankfully, was Zigsa.

It broke my heart to watch him react to our tidings. Of all the things he expected from his master, this was by far the worst, and shook him more than being called a coward and a disgrace. To my surprise, he didn't seem too concerned Red Claw was dead, but I should have seen right through it.

Li asked frantically if Ren and the General had made it, and much to our relief, our feline companion answered in the affirmative.

"They got here a few hours ago. There's maybe a score of Imperial guards still loyal to your General—he's a lucky man. Ren was injured in the escape, but he'll be fine. So Li, stop panicking."

Li jumped, "Panicking? Why do you think I'm panicking? I'm not panicking…"

"Uh-huh, get your brush over there before I drag you over myself," he said stiffly.

Song just rolled her eyes and smiled as Li trotted off. "I take it they're doing well?" she asked in reference to the budding couple.

"Well enough," I said. "We need a plan to stop the army."

"Shouldn't be difficult with Red Claw being dead," Song said. "Once they know, they'll fall apart. Not to mention, my guess is Master Qiang's not going to let them get away with this treachery—the General definitely won't."

"But how can we fight them?" Ochir asked. "Our numbers suck, and our odds aren't much better. If they find the path you left…"

"As long as you covered your own path, we should be fine."

Ochir and I were silent, then shared a guilty look. I thought we had been forgetting something…

Song swore vehemently. "Oh, you _jackass_!"

"We didn't know!" I said quickly.

"I tore down some trees to block their path," Ochir said, trying to help.

"Well that does us a _huge_ favor," she said scathingly. "Because it means you're leading them right towards us!"

"No, no," Zigsa said. "This actually works in _our_ favor."

"How?"

He grinned maliciously. "There's a reason we keep telling that legend us being gods of death…"

* * *

I later learned from Zigsa that most snow leopards hated—absolutely _loathed_—being thought of as "gods of death". The Clan of Mount Tai Lung was no exception. But, they didn't mind monopolizing on it if it meant protecting their families.

The answer to their most persistent problem was a simple solution: guerilla warfare.

I had to explain to my father and the other males from the village that "guerilla" was not the same as "gorilla". Once they got it, they agreed it was a good idea. These snow cats were experts in surprise attacks and ambushes. It had been the way they kept themselves safe for generations.

The leader of the mountain's clan was an older woman called Jin Lung, or the "Gold Dragon". I thought it was because of her golden eyes, but apparently it was given to her by her father, who had been the most celebrated warrior of the clan's long history. She had followed in his footsteps, becoming the Headwoman after his death.

Jin Lung was not much to behold upon first glance. A woman of middle age, mother to three teenage children, the youngest not but fifteen, the oldest barely nineteen, she was slim and slender like most females of the species, but the bulk of her was actually fur, not muscle. Still, I knew better than to judge by lack of muscle mass.

Apparently, she and Zigsa had become fast compatriots. Having the General there seemed to ease her mind further. I wondered how long they must have lived in isolation from the rest of the world. They knew about the Huns, and Red Claw, so news had to have reached them somehow.

Upon meeting her, Ochir, Li and myself expressed our heartfelt thanks for opening her home to the villagers.

"In the old days," Jin Lung warned, "visitors were not welcome. Given the news, I will look away this one time. Strangers are not welcome here."

We decided it was best to leave her with the General to discuss plans for fighting the coming army. We got caught up with the villagers, seeing to them and their comforts.

The snow leopards of the mountain were already way ahead of us. Most of them, especially the younger generation, were curious and fascinated by the Outsiders. They marveled at stories about farming and mundane aspects of daily life as if it were the most fascinating subject in the world; on the other hand, the villagers were just as fascinated with their new-found neighbors. My mother had found herself a "sisterhood" almost as soon as they had settled. Two female snow leopards sat with her and my sisters-in-law, some quilting, others mending clothes, swapping stories and didactic tales, though most stories were about their families. I blush to remember some of the things my mother said about me.

"He was the most precocious child, my Fu."

"You should see my grandson," one leopard said. "What a little hell-raiser!"

Song sat me down amongst my family members, who listened to me as I explained what had happened. My father was visibly enraged at Red Claw's treachery, and for a moment, I swore Elder Brother was actually glad I was safe and alive. Since my return, perhaps, seeing me go off to war must have changed his perception of me, as it had for his wife, apparently.

My parents introduced me to their hosts, which started a whole chain reaction…one that leaves my head spinning to this day.

The naming conventions of this clan were the worst. Of the nearly 500 individuals living on the mountain, almost all of them had some form or variation of "Tai" or "Lung" in their name.

For those with "Lung" or "Long" for Dragon, there were those with names like "Green Dragon", "Blue Dragon" or "Red Dragon", just like Jin Lung. Once the colors were exhausted (and those got pretty creative, like rose, cerulean, cobalt, viridian, etc.), they switched to virtues: "Wise Dragon", "Loyal Dragon", etc.

Once all forms of "Lung" or "Long" were exhausted, then came the "Tai"s. Some names with "Ultimate" or "very", such as "Ultimate Strength" or "Very beautiful" (Tai Li and Tai Mei) were very beautiful, and so were their bearers (especially Tai Mei, if I do say so myself. From _any_ young man's position, she was _Hot_, with a capital _H_).

But some delineated into obscure, and at times, rather unfortunate names. You'd think they could come up with thousands of monikers, but eventually, there were only so many variations of "Tai" and "Lung" they could achieve. So they had relegated to naming children after objects common on the mountain, like "Rock" or "tree" or "flower". A few sons were named "Shan" for the mountain itself.

Are you confused yet, dear reader?

Song nudged me out of my reverie, "Are you okay?"

"How do you _not_ get confused?" I asked her.

She shrugged, "Haven't been here that long." She sighed heavily. "It looks like there's going to be a battle after all."

"We probably won't fight in it," I said. "I think the General and Jin Lung want us to stay out of it. I guess if this clan can protect their home for so long, they must be good at it."

"I'm worried though. Most of them seem really nice, but there are some who…well, kind of bother me."

"How so?"

She leaned in to whisper. "There are some here who don't like 'Outsiders' at all. They don't trust us. I think they remember the plague, that an Outsider brought it to them."

"We don't necessarily trust them either," I pointed out, deciding it was better to not mention the otherworldly impression most villagers had for the felines.

"That's why I want to get out of here as soon as possible," she said. "I'm worried that if we fight from the mountain, it's very likely that there will be a siege that we won't survive."

"So what do you recommend?"

She looked about, making sure no one heard her, then she whispered in my ear, "The five of us need to take this army out ourselves."

* * *

I don't think I had heard her correctly. Five students, against an _army_? Well, keep in mind, dear reader, that these were the days _before_ the Furious Five; for the Furious Five, being outnumbered 100 to 1 was nothing—in Master Mantis' case, despite his small stature, it was like a vacation.

For _us_ though, such an idea was laughable, insane, and even suicidal. I for one knew that I could possible handle a dozen…maybe a few more. Li was comfortable with that number, and Ochir, we knew, could easily handle two dozen without blinking an eye. Song…I had no reservations she could handle herself. As for Zigsa, whether or not he would actually fight was still in question.

"Absolutely."

"What?"

Zigsa crossed his arms over his chest, "Yes, I'll fight."

"What happened to the whole _not_ fighting and hoping this will bring on the whole 'master-hood' thing?" Li questioned.

"I kept my promise: the villagers are safe. I promised to keep them safe," he said. "And by heaven, I'm not going to stop until they're safe from all harm…"

Song cleared her throat loudly.

"…within reason," he corrected himself.

"Much better," she smiled. She obviously loved having control over him, and who could blame her? Domestic cat she may have been, but there was enough of a wild streak in her to assert her dominance if she felt so inclined. But she could be forceful without being overbearing; oftentimes she used her very gender to get the exact results she was looking for. Playing on feminine stereotypes to suit her advantage became one of her strengths, even if it was sneaky and underhanded. Suffice to say, plenty of male opponents (and a few females) bought into the trap and only realized their mistake when it was too late.

It was one of the things I loved about her.

Yes, I like strong women. Is there a problem with that?

"Look," Li said, "Maybe we should assume that Jin Lung has it covered? I mean, she _has_ lived on this mountain her whole life. She knows it pretty well…"

"It's her strategy that worries me," Song said. "She wants to draw them in. She wants to bring them closer to her, like the spider enticing the fly; she doesn't want to go out and meet them…"

"Yeah, it's a cat thing. What's your point?" Zigsa asked.

She sent him a glare, and made sure he could tell she wasn't pleased, "If we want to win this, we need to fight our natures."

"Meaning what?"

"We go to the mouse, not let the mouse come to us."

"You're crazy!" he sighed exasperatedly.

I saw Li's ears perk up, and a slow, sly smile spread across his features. "Crazy like a fox…"

* * *

"I thought you're not supposed to play with your prey?" Ochir asked me later.

I only shrugged, "Must be a predator thing."

We had snuck out after the villagers had settled in for a meal, and for bed. The rain had subsided outside, and when we had left, Jin Lung and the General were still in debate as to how best to handle this situation. We still had a rudimentary plan, but for the most part, we were following Li's example. Ren had decided to join us as well. Unfortunately for him and Zigsa, their services and expertise were not in high demand anymore. We were no longer fighting Huns, but fellow Chinese.

However, Ochir and Song were now the experts in this field. Ochir had his father's military upbringing on his side—he knew how these soldiers fought. Song had her upbringing with her father, a diplomat, so she knew how most Chinese _men_ thought. Naturally, since women were not allowed in the army, she could play that knowledge like Mahjong tablets on a game board.

Ochir explained the differences in the three branches of the military; as he put it, every branch had their own "Book", or code by which they lived by.

The Emperor's personal guard: "What Book?" (Meaning they looked the other way in most cases, and did it their own way, whatever was necessary).

The Imperial army (usually made up of enlisted recruits from civilian families): "What's a book?" (A horrible joke, I admit).

The Imperial Navy: "Where does it say in the Book I _can't_?" (A sentiment I am rather partial to myself).

Unfortunately for us, we were up against the "What book?" demographic. As Zigsa pointed out—and with a rather wicked grin at that—that meant we ought to employ the same mindset. I thought this was a little dangerous; if we went in with the "take no prisoners" mentality, that wouldn't make us any better than they.

I think, perhaps for the first time, he had actually thought about what I said. Perhaps it was the revelation of his Master's self-destruction and genocidal tendencies that changed him, but since hearing what Red Claw had done, something in the snow leopard had changed. Maybe it was as simple as being away for five years, and in Oogway's care, or perhaps it was that Zigsa was not there to witness it.

I secretly feared that he didn't believe what we told him; what if he thought we were lying to him, trying to defame his master's memory? Having him snap and turn on us was a very real fear. He had not been raised with us; he was an Outsider. While Song, Li, Ochir and I had no problem telling each other exactly what we thought, Zigsa was still restrained, and in truth, we had no clue how to approach him.

We stopped in our descent down the slope, hiding behind an outcropping of boulders and looked down. Torchlight burned like demons' eyes on the valley floor below—much to my relief, the soldiers were leaving the village alone. But then I worried.

"Why are they sparing the village?" I wondered. "They're not burning it to the ground. They've used slash and burn campaign the whole way here—why not here?"

"Its just the village's luck," Ren explained. "This year, this region gained back all that was lost in the bad harvest last year, and even has a surplus. This army is concerned with taking everything, and right now, there's too much for them to consume."

"We'll need to cut them off," Zigsa said. "Take away all their resources…"

"No!" I snapped. "That would destroy the entire place!"

"Then what ideas do you have?!" he snapped back. "Fu, they're going to use everything in their path…" he paused when Song slapped him. We all stared at the cat, who was grinning wildly.

"Song…" the snow leopard said slowly, holding down his temper, "I love you like a sister, but _what_…was _that_?"

Song held up her fingers, which were coal-black with a makeshift paint from fire's ashes and coal dust. "You said there was a reason your kind are called gods of the dead…" she said, outlining her eyes with the black paint, and smudging it around her eyes, giving them a sunken look before drawing a fearsome grimace around her mouth. When she smiled—which ordinarily was a beautiful smile—she looked positively terrifying…

Like a death goddess.

The rest of us grinned as it dawned on us. If it was death gods the soldiers expected, it was death gods they would receive.

Song smoothed more black paint into Zigsa's skin, tearing the fabric of his shirt to make it look like he had fought all the way up to earth from the deepest pits of Hell. She did the same with her own clothes, ripping and tearing. We followed her example.

She then brought out a red powder she had swiped from the snow leopards, which she mixed with water to make a brilliant crimson red. Turning to me, she said, "Close your eyes, Devil," and proceeded to turn me into a monster.

Later, mixes of the red and black paint, torn clothes, and faces green from the juices of grass and leaves rubbed into our skin to make us appear as living, ghoulish corpses, turned us from six respectful students of kung fu, into six demons representing six of the seven hells. If only we had one more…

We had very little time to worry about that. We were ready.

* * *

There was talk quickly going through the camp of the enemy soldiers. It appeared that they had heard of Red Claw's death, and that Master Jian Qiang was on the warpath to make them all pay for their treachery. The leader of the regiment, a crocodile, was perhaps not as fierce as Red Claw had been, but he was nonetheless ruthless. He was not fond of cold weather, and naturally dreaded climbing the mountain. The coward planned to keep to the back of the line, let his soldiers do the dirty work for him.

Song and I crouched low near his tent; she had her eyes closed, in case the firelight reflected off her eyes. I whispered what I saw to her, waiting for her plan (for it was _her_ plan now) to fall into action. We each had our own roles to play, and mine was about to begin.

Before long, Song cracked open her eyes and watched with me as we saw Ren dip a vial of white powder into the crocodile's wine bottle, then disappear into the night. The crocodile never saw a thing, and neither had his guards. He took a long swing of the brew; she and I grinned. Within a few minutes, that narcotic would make the crocodile believe anything he saw.

Ren had completed his duty.

The plan was set in motion.

Before I made my move to complete _my_ duty, Song grabbed my hand. "Keep your wits, Fu," she whispered so low I could barely hear her, even with my sensitive hearing.

"And one more thing…"

"Yeah?" I asked.

"For the record, yes, you do have a cute ass," she winked. With that, she slipped back into the shadows towards the tree line while I moved out of our hiding place in the bushes towards the leader's tent. I waited in the shadows, waiting with bated breath as all the soldiers settled down for the night.

Two guards were gossiping not too far away; I smirked as I heard the topic of their conversation. One "had the creeps" about this place, while the other mentioned "this place is haunted".

Perfect.

I waited for the signal.

The nightingale's call lifted over the camp and echoed into the darkness. An owl's call came from the other side of the camp, followed swiftly by an eagle's screech. I darted out right in front of the guards, disappearing into the dark bushes on the other side.

"That the hell was that?!" one shrieked.

"Trick…it's a trick of the light…"

Li bounded out from the other corner, darting across and hiding in the shadows of another tent before slipping away.

The first guard held his spear in his shaking hands, "That…that was no trick…that looked too real."

"It's got to be one of those villagers…"

"Did you _see_ his eyes?! I told you this place was haunted!"

They gasped, looking up into the middle of the clearing, by the fire. Song, who had rolled herself in soot, was head-to-toe in black, dragging herself out of the bushes into the firelight. I thought it absolutely remarkable the way she moved. Not like a cat at all, movements swift, jerky, like a monitor lizard, crawling on her belly along the ground, her claws—stained red—digging into the dirt as she dragged herself closer to the fire. The guards watched in mute horror as she moved across the ground; I was awestruck by her acting ability. She was even making a hissing noise in the back of her throat—simple meditation breaths, or the kind of breathing one does during Tai Chi. But imperceptibly, at that moment, something so calm and peaceful sounded demonic and terrifying…and I was part of the plot!

By the time she reached the fire in the clearing, the crocodile leader had been awoken by his guards and huffed from the tent…only to freeze and pale at the sight of the…_thing_…sitting by his fire.

Song had obscured her face from them, then started crawling on hands and knees around the fire's perimeter, as if she were not aware they were even watching. She stopped, kneeling directly opposite them, her eyes downcast.

"What the hell _is_ that?" the crocodile asked.

She looked up at him, firelight reflecting off her eyes, and that, combined with the fearsome makeup on her face, and the grimace and yowl she let out, caused a collective cry to rip from their throats.

"Demon!"

That was Zigsa's signal. He bounded out of the shadows directly behind her, pouncing right on the crocodile and his two guards.

Li and I sprung into action after we heard the anguished cries from across the other side of camp. Ochir and Ren had made their move.

Li drew a single arrow, lit it on fire, and let it fly. It struck only one tent, which went up in flames immediately, sparks flying and setting others on fire as well. Ochir had told us Imperial tents were coated in a mixture that kept out rain and moisture, but was very flammable, and Li took that to his advantage.

I snuck around, waiting for my opportunity, and saw my chance. Some lions were running from their burning tent, and I decided to give them the scare of their lives.

I jumped right into their path swinging the Sword of Heroes around, the jade dragon motif on the blade flashing in the firelight. I was small, but I looked otherworldly to them, and I intended to fight like it. The lions dispersed immediately upon seeing me, shrieking in fear that a black-clad demon scuttled along the ground in front of them. I leapt up and slammed my palm into one's chest, sending him back into his comrade, and with a swinging kick, sent them back further. I dodged as one bold cat thrust his lance at me; I snapped it with a single slashing motion and a flat hand. I grabbed the broken end and slammed it into his head, jumping out of the way as they ran off.

I rolled behind a rock, finding Song panting by my side. "How's it going?" she asked.

"Well. You?"

"Not too shabby," she looked over the rock and grinned wickedly at a passing lizard. Unsheathing her claws, she winked at me, whispering, "Lifelong fear of cats in three…two…one…"

She pounced.

If that lizard did _not_ end up fearing felines in all forms until the day he died, I would have been very surprised.

Very soon it was time for the piece de resistance, and Song let out her signal call: a nightingale's warble. A crow's call answered her, and the massive bonfire in the middle of the camp suddenly erupted into a massive explosion that rippled upwards like a mushroom shooting up from the dust. The entire village—indeed, the entire valley—was awash in orange and red from the fire's hellish light, which made the entire locale appear to be a scene from Hell.

Then to our shock, something was illuminated on the mountain path. All the soldiers saw it and groaned in despair. More demons! Demons and various terrifying creatures, garbed in torn clothes, features blackened and charred with red, rose red eyes and fangs dripping blood, roaring and shrieking at the soldiers. One particularly disgusting-looking animated corpse limped into the camp and straight for the crocodile…the ghoul raised his right arm, pointing at the crocodile, who was frozen in place.

"You…killed me…you…_killed_ _me_…" the ghoul hissed with a voice that rattled in his throat. Then he lifted his head and roared.

It was all the soldiers needed.

The whole charade had lasted perhaps fifteen minutes. Twenty minutes after Song had first made her nightingale's warble the "battle" was over. The enemy soldiers were running straight for the mountain pass that took them back the way they came. Apparently facing the Huns was preferable to facing the "Demons of Zhou Tong".

When the last traitor tripped through the pass, the six of us—Song, Ochir, Li, Ren, Zigsa, and I—gathered together, looked at each other in the light of the abandoned fires…and celebrated.

"YES!" Li whooped, hugging Ren close.

"_Hell_ yes!" Ochir and Zigsa pumped their fists into the air, whooping and embracing like old comrades.

"Nice one, cat," the rhino grinned. "You're one hell of a death god."

"I couldn't agree more," the "animated corpse" chuckled. He straightened up and tore his sleeve, wiping grime and muck from his face; the General grinned back at us. "Good show!"

Jin Lung slid down the slope, her visage frightening, but the smile on her face was warm and kind. "Well done, indeed," she said. "My kind are known for guerilla combat, but this…we'll need to use this method!"

"It was _my_ idea," Song said pointedly. "And how did you know what we were doing?"

The two big cats turned round and stared back at one "ghoul" who had told them of our plot…

Elder Brother.

He stepped forward, right up to me, looking me in the eye. My elder brother, yet I was taller than him, and he looked me in the eye, his expression unreadable, but I did notice a strange look in his eye…

To my astonishment, he punched his fist into his palm and bowed, "Master." When he straightened, he was smiling at me. He was smiling _proudly_ at me. "Thank you, Little Brother."

I was stunned. My brother, whom I'd held—and felt—such animosity for five years, had clearly lost all pretense of my having stolen honor from him…but I had, hadn't I? I had saved our family, an honor that should have been his. I told him this; he shook his head, "No, I don't care about that anymore. Mama was right all along…you _were_ meant for something greater. I saw you leaving the mountain, and I thought you were abandoning us…when I saw what you were really doing, I knew you needed help…even if it was something small."

I was floored. "You knew about this?"

"It was a good plan. And look, it's saved our home, and our village is protected for generations to come!" he was smiling, at me, at my friends, at everyone. "Thanks to you—all of you—I don't have to worry for my family's safety ever again."

Second Brother and my father appeared by his side, the former hugging me tightly, the latter holding me at arm's length, tears of pride in his eyes. When he shed those tears, they left lines down his face from the war paint. "My son…my son, a master of kung fu…"

And there it was, that so-called elephant in the room.

I think all six of us made a face—I know Zigsa made a strained sound in his throat.

My father looked at all of us. "What's wrong?"

Naturally, it fell upon me to be the messenger. "Uh, Baba? There's _kind_ _of_ a _little_ stipulation that we _kind of_ forgot to mention…"

* * *

The next morning saw Master Jian Qiang entering the village side-by-side with Borte, the Mongol falcon. The six of us had stayed in the village to make sure the traitorous soldiers did not return; Qiang assured us they wouldn't. He didn't say anything further, but judging from Borte's smug yet grim smile, I guessed those soldiers would never bother anyone ever again.

Qiang waited until the General came down the mountain with the villagers, and the wolf was as surprised as anyone to see the clan of snow leopards helping the villagers along. There was quite a bit of time that needed to be spent fixing the village and restoring it; just as much time was needed to assure the Emperor that China was in fact safe. The General and his score of guards left that same day for the capital, taking Borte with them to plead the Huns' case.

This time, she assured us, there would be no "failure to communicate".

* * *

We had been gone two weeks from the Valley of Peace. There was much to rebuild, and much to build from scratch.

The village headman had abdicated in the shadow of the coming battle. His house was up for grabs—Qiang took it as a temporary leader for the villagers, a kind of martial law, if you will. Within a few days, however, my father was named the new village headman, by far the greatest honor our family had ever had.

A few buildings had been damaged, but there were some that were completely devastated. The snow leopards of Mount Tai Lung, remarkably, offered to help reconstruct our home; if there is one thing that can be said about the species in general, snow leopards keep their word. They set down foundations for firmer houses, walls and stone bridges, all quarried from the mountain, of course. In return, my father offered to share some of the harvest with them. It was a happy ending for all involved…

A happy ending, except for the five students of Master Oogway.

* * *

The five of us sat outside my family's ancestral home, overlooking the rice paddies below, in complete silence. Simultaneously, we sighed collectively.

"We're still fucked, right?" Li asked.

"For disobeying Master Oogway? Probably," Zigsa nodded.

I groaned and hung my head, "Look, you could have just stayed there…none of this would have happened if…"

"You're right," Song said. "None of this would have happened if we'd stayed and let you go on alone. We came because you're our friend, and we knew no one could do this alone."

"She's right," Ochir chuckled. "You really think we were gonna let you have all the glory? Besides, once you get past all the near-death experiences and people trying to kill you and everything, this was kinda fun."

"And rewarding," Zigsa smiled, and actually sighed contentedly. "As much as I hate to say it, I'm glad Master Red Claw is dead…"

"You _are_?" we all asked.

He nodded. "For the first time, my existence doesn't depend on the happiness of someone else…my happiness depends on me. Do you have any idea how…how _liberating_ that is? And, now that I know what a scumbag he was, I don't feel so bad about not being a master…"

"Oh, is that so?" a sagely, withered voice said behind us. "If that is the case, Zigsa, then I should have just stayed home."

We all whirled around and gaped.

Master Oogway.

I don't think there is a time increment small enough to measure how quickly we were kissing the dirt, kowtowing, and begging for mercy. Li's earlier comment rang through my ears; oh yes, we were very much fucked.

But when I looked up, Master Oogway was…_smiling_ at us.

"Word travels very quickly to the Jade Palace. Some of the things I have heard sound quite extraordinary…" he addressed each of us in turn. "Like a rhino learning how to fly, or a cat who sings like a bird…"

Song and Ochir bit back on their laughs.

"…a fox who showed quite a bit of strength for one so small…"

Li took a deep breath, but I could tell he was proud.

"…a snow leopard who denied his instincts and followed his heart…"

Zigsa had to bite his lip; he looked like he was about to cry, but I couldn't be sure.

"…and a red panda who, perhaps, has taught the greatest lesson in his life to date," he beamed at me, his green eyes smiling as well. "It is time…"

"Time for what, Master?" I asked.

"Something you have been anticipating for a long time."

We all shared a look, then we hastily stood. A crowd had gathered around us, witnessing this incredible event. Shoulder to shoulder, we stood straight and proud, wondering what names we would be known by…

Oogway, I should mention, had always had an odd sense of humor. But sometimes, we didn't mind so much.

He stopped in front of Ochir, who bowed deeply with respect. Oogway only smiled, "I remember the day you first landed on my doorstep, with a mind closed tighter than your fist. You have grown in more ways than one, Ochir son of Terbish. Because you have opened your heart and mind, you have also spread your wings… Congratulations, Master Flying Rhino."

Ochir just laughed; he bit back, muttered a sheepish apology. Oogway just winked.

"Ah, Miao Song…when your mother brought you to me, you had quite a bit of talent already. As lovely as your mother…but my, did you ever have her temper! Fortunately, you were also gifted with her grace. But you are _not_ your mother. Her legacy lies with the strength of her style. Your legacy lies with the swiftness of your own, and with the kindness in your heart. Congratulations, Master Yeying."

Song closed her blue eyes and smiled wide. _Yeying_. Nightingale.

Oogway next stopped in front of Li. "An orphan, lost his parents much too young, left in the care of an old friend. It seems the world was against you from the beginning, Hu Li. But fortune has a funny way of smiling upon those who are affected most by it. Since your arrival, your life has changed; you have a family to call your own, in the friends you have made, and in the people you have come to love. This love is what prompted you to follow a friend when he needed you most; from the east, you came west, to be the strong pillar that held him—and all of them—up. Congratulations, Master Dong Li."

Dong Li. Eastern Strength.

Moving once more down the line, he stopped in front of Zigsa. The snow leopard just bowed his head reverently. I think a part of him was wondering if this was really happening.

"Zigsa," Oogway began. "I know that you feared that this day would never come, and yet here you are…" He paused, peering into his face, and smiled, "And you think you do not deserve it. That is the first lesson you needed to learn, young one: Humility. You have always fought with honor, and for justice, but there are different ways to achieve both. I feared that with Red Claw's interference, you would never open your eyes…or your heart. Your heart was as cold as his, but something changed, small, to say the very least," he glanced over at me for a moment so brief, I might have imagined it. "Your helping the villagers only proved what a strong, capable young man you are, and what an honorable, judicious master you will be…Master Xue Shan."

Zigsa smirked a little at the irony. Xue Shan; Snow Mountain, likely to reference how he cared for the villagers. He didn't seem to mind the name either, for it certainly fit him. He was as big as a mountain, and he _was _a snow leopard, for heaven's sake.

Then Oogway stood in front of me. I felt my stomach doing flip flops. I may have been moments away from being named a master, but I still secretly feared that I would be punished for my insubordination. If I were Oogway, I would do it. I looked up at him, and he was frowning.

I was still screwed.

"I have had much time to think about our last conversation, Small One. You defied the only order I have ever given you, ran away from home…stole food _and _sacred relics from the Jade Palace for your own use in battle, put your friends in danger, almost got yourself _and _your family killed, _and_…"

I remember closing my eyes and praying to the goddess of mercy that whatever punishment I was about to receive would be quick…

"…you have done splendidly."

I opened my eyes in shock. "Master?"

"I have always seen that streak in you, Small One," he said, a smile slowly growing on his wrinkled lips. "Other masters would punish you for disobeying them; I would have been more disappointed had you listened to me. I would have been disappointed had you listened to Jian Qiang, or Red Claw…but you didn't. You knew in your heart what was right; you've always known what was right. And it is that wisdom that you've taught to your fellow students and friends. But it will not be the last lesson you will ever teach…" he rested his hand on my head, as if passing along a blessing.

"Master Shifu."

Shifu. That was my new name. Wait…

"Master…Teacher? Isn't that a little repetitive?" I asked.

"It suits your destiny," he explained. I didn't question him. None of the others complained when he gave them their new names, so I had no right to either.

Oogway stepped back, smiling at the five of us, and bowed. We returned the bow, but he stopped us. "Masters," he said, "This day, you bow to no one."

When we looked behind us, the crowd had all bowed at us, in our honor. Zigsa—forgive me, Xue Shan—touched my shoulder. "What's going on?" he asked. "Is something happening?"

"Yes," I said breathlessly. "Something wonderful."

* * *

We left for the Valley of Peace within the week. It took us a little more than two weeks to get back, with Oogway leading us. We didn't care. It gave us time to get used to our new names. In some cases, habit just overwhelmed everything else. Ochir may have become the famous and legendary Master Flying Rhino, but he begged us to call him Ochir, as we always had.

Li still appreciated being called Li; Xue Shan was happy with the simplified Shan. Song was proud of her new name. Yeying. It suited her marvelously. It was beautiful, the way it flowed off the tongue. Some days, I catch myself with her name on my lips, and I can't help but to whisper it, just to hear it again.

As for me, Shifu took some adjusting. Oogway no longer called me "Small One"; in a way, I felt this was a terrible loss. While I may have officially become a man, I felt that the child I had been—little Fu, Small One—had been banished by this _person_ called Shifu. But therein lies Oogway's brilliance. Call something by any name you desire, and it doesn't change the thing, only the words that describe it. I was still the same me, even if it felt like I wasn't, just because of a name.

But we noticed something rather peculiar as we continued our journey. Apparently word of our exploits had reached far and wide. Bandits attacked us once or twice, and we drove them back, oftentimes with Master Oogway meditating while we fought. We faced a few other foes, helped the soft and weak on occasion. By the time we reached home, word of our battles and our abilities reached all across China.

We didn't know it at the time, but looking back, it is clear what had happened: quite simply, we were the Furious Five of our day.

* * *

"So _that's_ how he got his name," Mantis said. "I'd always wondered about that."

"Master Yeying…" Viper said wistfully. "He's right—it _is _a beautiful name! But, I swear I've heard it somewhere before…"

"Yeah..." Tigress said, staring into space. "Me too."

Po yawned hugely, snuffing out a couple candles. "Well, I guess it can wait until morning, right? I'm bushed, I think I'll turn in..."

"To what?" Mantis asked.

"What?"

"You'll turn in to what?" the insect snickered.

Po just sighed and shook his head, too tired to deal with Mantis this late. "Good _night_ guys..."

* * *

Blah, this chapter could have gone better. C'est la vie, Que sera sera, scheitza happens.


	12. Chapter 12

Holy crap, I can't believe I pulled this together in time! I wasn't expecting to be so mind-numbingly bored at work today, but there was nothing to do, and apparently half the office has already departed for the holidays...so fic writing, FTW. My little butt works all the way up to Christmas Eve. At least I get off the 25th and 26th. Boxing Day FTW.

I know I've said this about other chapters, but this one could have been better: there's a lot of transition here, most going into the next story arch (of which this is part one), and some confusion may occur. I tried to make it as clear as possible, I swear!

To those who don't know yet, I have a sketch of the Jiao Clan up on my DeviantArt page (click on "homepage" on my profile, should take you there). They're all there, even Ming Hua! (Not a shameless plug...no, never...). Anyways, if I don't update next week, assume I'm having a lovely Christmas holiday. Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, Nollaig Shona Dhuit, Froehliche Weihnachten, or in plain English, Merry Christmas!

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda, so please, leave an early Christmas present and DON'T sue?

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

* * *

Chapter 12

* * *

Mantis, perhaps, was not the most observant of the Furious Five, but he could hardly deny that there was something amiss about Po and Tigress. Now, he had always known Tigress to be tough as nails, gritty, the kind of girl who wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty, or work out until she was drenched in sweat. For that reason, he surmised, explained how he got along with her. To him, Tigress was "one of the guys"; Viper, of course, very much enjoyed being a woman. Tigress, for one reason or another, denied her own femininity.

Now, Po was another story. Mantis had to admit early on, he was starting to like the panda. When the others were willing to dismiss him, the insect had to admit that despite the hell Shifu had put the poor guy through, he wasn't a quitter.

Mantis hated quitters.

Before he had learned the delicate art of patience, that was another weakness of his. He never quit; he didn't know _when_ to quit. He despised those who gave up too easily…but even _he_ winced every time the panda hit the ground hard, or got scorched by the field of fiery death. The insect had even sympathized when Po got hit in his "tenders" while stumbling through the Gauntlet. It was something _any_ male could sympathize with.

Not Tigress.

Now, Mantis could easily sympathize with her; of the five of them, she was a shoe-in for the title. While it would have been nice to be the Dragon Warrior, Mantis had to admit…he wasn't cut out for it. The weight of responsibility would have been too much for him to handle. And perhaps that same responsibility would have been too much for the perfectionist feline as well.

Po took on the title with characteristic aplomb, always humble, even when boasting about his own "awesomeness" and "bodacity". But inside, the panda was still the same kung fu-idolizing fanboy he had always been. He looked up to the Five, when it should have been the other way around. Sure, he had hang-ups about his body image, but honestly, who didn't? But his easy-going nature, sense of humor, and kind-heartedness combined into a personality that was impossible to dislike.

…Which made Tigress' recent conduct most puzzling.

Mantis lay awake in his tiny bed, pondering over this conundrum. He wanted to attribute her recent aggression to the sickness, but even when she was at her worst, she had never been as harsh as she was now.

And Po…it was not like him to lash out at her, even if she deserved it.

_They fight like an old married couple…_

Then he gaped at his own thought. Could it be…?

He shook his head. _No way. No friggin' way. She hates the guy, and Po thinks—obviously—that she's way out of his league._ In truth, she was; she was out of the league of most guys.

But, hadn't Tigress always behaved like a guy? From Mantis' own experience with the other sex (limited as it were, given his aversion to females of his own species), increased aggression, teasing, and other such unsavory behaviors characterized how most males handled interactions with females…at least in pre-adolescence. As they got older, women just intimidated them more. Was that Tigress' approach…if the suspected feelings even existed?

This thought pattern eventually led back to the subject that took up the majority of the past week: Shifu's memoirs. The way his master felt about Song—wait, her name was Yeying now—was obvious, even if he never admitted on paper that he loved her. But seeing as the red panda had never mentioned her to them…had that relationship never happened? Perhaps she had married another, like her mother had, in order to have children, thus leaving Shifu brokenhearted? It could explain his guarded nature. Hadn't Tigress said so herself that Shifu had loved his son Tai Lung more than anyone else before…or since?

Of course, the question of _why_ was another matter entirely. Theoretically, they _knew_ Shifu didn't swing _that_ way. The insect shuddered at the idea that probably…no, it didn't bear thinking about. _Totally gross…and oh yeah, _wrong_! Wrong on _so _many levels…_

Outside, the gong sounded; he sighed and got up, dashing to the door. The others were still abed. He sighed again; once Shifu got back, there'd be hell to pay if he saw how much they had been slacking off. He could feel the chill from outside; another bitterly cold day. He looked over his shoulder and through his window—snow was falling again. Viper was going to be _pissed_.

Gradually, they all emerged. Viper went over to Tigress—probably to feed off her warmth—and felt her forehead. "Well, your fever's gone, and you don't look as bad as you did yesterday."

"How do you feel?" Crane asked.

"Okay," she croaked, a hand moving up to her throat, as if by massaging it, it would banish the sore and scratchy voice. Po just rolled his eyes, "Okay, Sore Throat Soup coming right up…"

She made a face at the thought of _more_ soup, and clearly doubted in Po's medicinal abilities, especially after her _last_ go at his remedies. Mantis didn't blame her. If the panda could pull together something so disgusting for sniffles, just what did he have in his arsenal for laryngitis?

He jumped onto Monkey's shoulder as he followed them to the kitchen. Mantis suddenly caught the look Crane was giving him.

Ah, of course. It was the insect's turn at weaving the tale…

* * *

A year had passed. We were instant heroes upon our return to the Valley, and our lives had changed drastically. That old saying, the more things change, the more they stay the same, seems to come to mind about that first year. We still lived at the Jade Palace, and trained every day to sharpen our skills, and learn yet more than we already knew. Our rooms were still in the same place they had always been, and yet we had new freedoms, and greater responsibilities.

We largely gave up the chores we had done before; Master Oogway told us one morning to just go straight to training, and when we returned, we found that the chores had been done for us…by new students.

It seemed that tales of our adventures made it all across the empire, and these young children were all there to learn from us. There were some adult warriors who came to train as well, but it was mostly children. I started teaching on my twentieth birthday, and it happened in the most unconventional way.

During the later spring months, when the spring melons were just starting to over-ripen, they would be employed in our training. I had been in the courtyard of the Training Hall, practicing techniques perfected by Master Jian Qiang, when I suddenly became aware of having an audience. A village child, a piglet, and his two lapin friends were silently watching me with mouths agape; I only became aware of them when one of them exclaimed "Wow, I wish I could do that!" And I turned to them and asked, "How would you like to learn?"

That is how I started teaching.

Those three, I will never forget them: Hu, Jin, and Tao were quick and avid learners, if at times easily discouraged. In one afternoon, they learned five different katas, and practiced them every day. I saw them weekly, at first, and marveled at how they improved. I asked Master Oogway if perhaps those who were "soft and weak" weren't as soft or as weak as we thought. He responded as he usually did: cryptically. "Nothing is as it seems, Shifu. Are the hard and strong really that hard or that strong, or is it a front? Are the meek really as weak as they appear, or are they only misleading us?"

In a roundabout way, he was telling me that it was not because of some inborn, natural talent that these villagers had; it was because they had such a good teacher.

"I could _tell_ you two plus two equals four," he continued, "but it means little if it is not _taught_. You can _tell_ someone how to farm, without _teaching_ them. In your case, you can _tell_ someone how to perform kung fu…"

"But what's the difference, Master?" I asked, unintentionally interrupting. "Is there really a difference between telling and teaching?"

"Of course there is," he smiled. "Just as there is a difference between showing and telling."

Confucius _wishes_ he could be that deep.

"I'm not sure I understand," I told him. "But…I like helping them. They really want to learn kung fu, and I teach them what I can…"

"But?" he caught the hesitation in my voice.

"But I don't feel like I know everything."

"No one knows _everything_, Shifu. To know everything is impossible…"

"Ah-_hah_!" I pointed at him, feeling slightly proud I had caught him contradicting himself. "You said nothing was impossible!"

"Yes, nothing but omnipotence, and perfection. Those two things are not just improbable, but impossible. Even I do not know all things, and look how long I have been around!"

"But you're so wise…"

"Wisdom and intellect are not one in the same. One is something you gain in school; the other is one you gain in life. Knowledge of words is a gift I would deny no one; that is why I taught you to read and write. Wisdom is something you cannot learn from words, but from actions. A truly well-rounded person has knowledge of words, and knowledge of life."

"Knowledge of words makes sense…but what exactly is knowledge of life?"

"I believe the layman's term is 'common sense'," he said with a wink. "The longer you live, the more you have.

"If teaching Hu, Jin and Tao is something that makes you happy, and gives you purpose, then I see no problem in allowing this to continue."

"But Master, don't I have other duties? I mean, surely there's more…"

"Of course there's more, my friend. There is so much more, yet you can not do all of it. Everyone and everything has a purpose; the tricky part, is finding that purpose. In your case, it practically fell into your waiting arms!"

"But I'm not really _teaching_ those three," I remember saying. "I'm simply telling them what I know—"

And there it was, that all-knowing smile of his. He'd caught me. I smirked, returning that smile. "Oh, you're good."

* * *

I was not the only one teaching. Even Yeying was fond of the village children. She was fond of the village in general. As a young child, she had not been allowed outside her family's villa walls; the freedom to walk amongst the villagers was something she celebrated, and never missed a chance on. She was the first to volunteer to go down into the valley for anything, really. Zhou went into early retirement because of her, and his son, Shing, was temporarily out of work.

Down in the valley, she made quite a few friends, whom she taught basic self-defense moves. It was something that motivated her; she had heard tales of spousal abuse, and made it her mission to teach her craft to all unmarried girls, as a means of prevention. Needless to say that within our lifetime, not a single woman she taught would ever feel their husband's strike or their mother-in-law's cruel comments.

Within that first year, she sought about perfecting her own style. This is not unusual: most kung fu masters will attempt to perfect a single move in their lifetime, though most are not so ambitious as to create their own form of kung fu. She sought to simplify it, make it accessible to anyone who wanted to learn it. She specialized in grapples, kicks, punches, but mostly deflection. Many of the moves she perfected in her twenties, I have since taught to Master Crane of the Furious Five—I'm not certain he was ever aware of this.

Within months of being named a master, she was easily the favorite in the valley, for women and especially for men. For a time, marriage proposals came in left and right, and she refused them all. I was proud of her for this; little did I know there was another reason aside from wanting to keep her self-sovereignty. At the time, I was just grateful she was "still on the market" as it were…even if, deep in my heart, I felt I had no chance with her.

* * *

We had been declared masters in the summer of my nineteenth year. By the start of that winter, we had a pleasant surprise.

One day, out of the blue, Jian Ren appeared in the valley, with the Mongol falcon Borte on his shoulder. Since the battle, she had become an ambassador between the two empires, and single-handedly orchestrated a cease-fire, and was in the process of drafting a peace treaty. Her only limitation was not being as familiar with Chinese custom on this; she hoped to study our philosophy under Oogway, to help her write the treaty with relative ease.

Ren's motivation, on the other hand, was purely personal. When he ascended the final step to the Palace, Li was the first one at the door. I don't think I had ever seen my old friend smile so much. The way they embraced would have made it clear to even one bestowed with the thickest skull that they shared an uncommon bond. If Oogway somehow did not figure it out sooner, he would certainly know now.

Much to my surprise, my master _was_ surprised by this revelation. But as I expected, it did not bother him. In fact, he looked…happy, even elated.

"So, Young Ren comes to us all the way from the Capital City," he greeted warmly, but something in his tone said that he was much happier with what he was seeing than he was letting on. "Good news, I hope?"

"Well enough. I hope you received my father's letter okay," he said, bowing reverently.

"Yes, it arrived a week ago. A promotion for you, eh? Congratulations, Lieutenant," my master smiled.

A lieutenant! In the Imperial Army, what an honor! Even though Ren never became a master in kung fu, he had a long distinguished career in the military. Li, for his part, couldn't hide the proud look on his features, and I hardly blamed him. How many people could possibly boast that the person they loved had achieved such an honor?

"I wish I had sufficient time to prepare for your arrival," my master continued. "We have very little space now, what with the new students…"

"He can stay in my room," Li said, a little too quickly. Yeying and I shared a look; not that he wasn't being obvious or anything…no, never. But Oogway agreed anyway,

"Of course, a fine idea! We will bring another bed out of storage for your use."

"You're too kind, Master Oogway," the wolf said respectfully. "I hope I can repay your hospitality."

"You will do nothing of the sort, you are a guest, and it is not in the nature of a host to demand compensation for a gesture from the heart. Ah, but you have brought another friend!"

Borte, it was plain to see, was absolutely star struck. Apparently, Mongolian families regarded Oogway as the personification of the Black Tortoise of the North (minus the serpent). He may as well have been a god in their pantheon, he was so revered. To her, he was a living deity; naturally, she was a little intimidated.

Suddenly remembering herself, she bowed her head, suddenly subservient in a way most servants in the Jade Palace were not, and had never been. "Your Excellency…"

Oogway held up his hand. "Please, madam, I am simply Oogway. I am no royal, no noble, but a simple man who enjoys simple pleasures. There is no need for such formality. Borte, was it?"

She nodded, afraid to raise her eyes.

"How interesting. A warrior as fierce as you unable—or unwilling?—to look me in the eye."

"You are sacred to my people. I am unworthy of gazing upon you…"

He frowned. "I will not have that. You may look upon me as you would any other person."

She looked over at us, and up at Ochir, who nodded in confirmation. Finally she looked at him…and smiled. I smiled too; my master had that effect on people. No matter whom they were, what their business was, or the mood they were in when they arrived, he always managed to make them smile and put them at ease. Of any master I have ever met, Oogway was the most casual of all. His laissez-faire approach was unorthodox, I admit, but it worked.

"Come, Lady Borte," he said, offering his arm. "I am very curious about your home. If you would, please inform me, for I am unfamiliar with Mongolia; I wager there is much to discuss."

She looked at his offered arm cautiously, then slowly, very slowly, flew over and landed on his arm. He turned to the rest of us, "Masters, if you would help Lieutenant Jian settle in, we will meet for dinner in a few hours."

We bowed as he dismissed us, the tortoise and falcon walking along, already deep in conversation.

After they had departed, all sense of formality was extinguished as we greeted our comrade in arms. After a hearty bear-hug, Ochir patted the wolf on the back, "So, Lieutenant, eh? How'd you swing that?"

He grinned sheepishly, "The General, mostly. He got my foot in the door. It's all rather new to me, and I'm not sure I got the hang of it yet."

"You will," Yeying said, hugging him. "You're pretty damn smart."

"Definitely," Li grinned. "I have faith in you."

Ren shared the smile, grasping the fox's hand. "So," he said, changing the subject with a smirk, "I'm sharing your room, eh?"

Li blushed; Ren suddenly remembered something and dug into his pockets, pulling out a small package and handed it to Xue Shan.

"What's this?" the snow leopard asked, opening up the tiny wooden box.

"Um, ear plugs," the wolf answered after a pause. "I, um, remembered what you said last summer, and I made sure I brought enough for everyone…"

An awkward silence followed, which made Li blush so hard it was impossible for his red fur to hide it. Shan finally broke the silence, clearing his throat and grasping the wolf by the upper arms. "You, sir, are a _saint_."

* * *

Once Ren was settled in, the rest of us left the two lovers alone to catch up. We wisely advised the servants to keep out of the bunkhouse as the canines were "unquestionably tired and asked not to be disturbed". It was the least we could do for them.

We went to our respective classes, and afterward, Ochir went off to meditate while Yeying and I made our way to the bathhouse.

"What a pleasant surprise," she said. "It's good to see him again."

"Oh yeah, definitely," I agreed. "He's good for him."

She knew what I meant, and nodded with a smile. "He is…Li's lucky. But it reminds me…why haven't you found someone?"

Crap. To stall, tell the truth, or tell a little white lie?

The lie won out.

"I dunno; I guess it hasn't been on my mind that much."

"Oh please, you're still unhappy with the fact you're still a virgin," she rolled her eyes.

I crossed my arms stubbornly. "Yeah, well you're still a virgin too! I mean, I've been busy, with the classes, and training, and still learning all the scrolls."

"You can't hold that against me," she snapped. "I have classes too, and I'm also learning the scrolls! Men aren't held to the same standards as women. My mother was right all those years ago: A woman can sleep with one man outside of marriage and her life is ruined, but a man can sleep with as many women as he wants and no one has a problem!"

"Yeying, I don't pretend that I don't think its wrong—I _know_ its wrong, but that's the way society is, and as much as we want to, we can't change it. Besides, just because I'm curious doesn't mean I'm actually going to…I don't want to hurt anyone that way."

"Of course not."

"What, you don't believe me?"

She stopped me, looking me in the eye. "I believe you," she said softly. "But right now, you're the only man I'd believe in. You're not like the others. Shan and Ochir…I had a feeling that, if given the chance, they'd jump on it. I know Li isn't in any danger of falling into that trap, because he has Ren. But you…" she sighed. "I don't know why I have this feeling…but I can tell you're unlike any other man I've ever known."

I'm not sure if she meant this as a compliment, but I took it anyway.

* * *

Our reputations grew. That winter, bandits attacked a village on the other side of the Thread of Hope and the villagers called upon our aid. Ren joined us, and we beat back the bandits easily. Ochir—Master Flying Rhino—practically _shone_ in that battle. Those wolves were absolutely terrified of him, and a good number of them were killed; the ones who perished were the ones who dared to get close enough.

A few weeks later, Xue Shan—simply Shan, to us—had his moment to shine when word got to us of a cruel magistrate overtaxing his people. That was relatively easy—he still had his reputation as "Zigsa the Reformer", and as soon as the magistrate heard he had entered his village, abdicated his position out of sheer terror. Shan didn't have to lift a finger, and the peasants rejoiced.

Dong Li was next, when he and Ren went on a special mission together, turning back the crocodile bandits of Devil's Bog, in the deep southern part of the empire. Single-handedly, the two of them drove the bandits away, liberating the people who had lived in terror of the reptiles. Li's reputation as an archer became unmatched—along the way home, that same winter, other warriors challenged him in archery tournaments…and he always won. I don't think Ren could have been prouder.

* * *

That spring, of the year I turned twenty, and Yeying turned nineteen, she and I were called away to a village not far from her natal home. An army of fox assassins had made threats against the ruling family in the region—high treason against the family of the Emperor. I barely had to do anything—she excelled with the pudao, intimidating the foxes enough to flee the area. Those that stayed to fight tasted the full brunt of our skills, from my staff, and her halberd. After a single battle lasting all of three hours, the assassins were defeated, and were incarcerated.

While we stayed at the grateful ruler's house, she received correspondence one day from her natal village: a letter, from her mother.

We were at breakfast, and she excused herself to read in the courtyard's garden. I found her sitting on a stone bench, under a budding magnolia tree. The scroll lay open on her lap, her mother's cursive calligraphy like gentle waves in a rolling brook. This was writing unlike anything I had ever seen.

"What is it?"

"A letter, from my mother."

"Ah."

"She says she's well, and my father too. They heard about our victory…apparently Father is still boasting about it to anyone who will listen. He has said he is proud of me…" here her voice cracked. I saw tears moisten her blue eyes.

I just sat next to her and hugged her. How long had she waited for her family to acknowledge her like this? When was the last time they had told her they were proud of her? Had they ever said so?

"Are you alright?"

She sniffed, wiping away a fallen tear, "I…I think so."

"'Ying, don't lie to me."

"I'm not…I just don't know how to take this…"

I peered over her shoulder at the script…and I couldn't understand how she could read it. It _looked_ like writing, but it was graceful, flowing…and I couldn't make out any words.

"What kind of writing is this?" I asked. "I mean, how can you read it? You don't speak a different dialect or anything…"

She smiled like she was holding a treasured secret. "It's women's writing, a special code we use to communicate with each other, so that the men in our lives don't know our true feelings."

"That's hardly fair."

"Is it? Put yourself in the shoes of a bound-footed woman, whose husband hits her, whose mother-in-law demeans, a woman whose life is utterly miserable. Who can she mourn to? How can she complain to her natal family when she runs the risk of her in-laws finding out her true feelings? It is through _nu shu_ that we have freedom. It is the one rebellion we are allowed…and most of the time, men have no idea it even exists."

Clever, very clever. Any unenlightened man would gawk, proclaim women were not intelligent enough to create their own code, and develop their own language. I knew better. The more time I spent with her, the more Yeying was willing to give up information about the secrets of _nu shu_. It was a phonetic system, spelled out in syllables…I think in other cultures its called an…elpabat, alphabet, something like that. Each character stood for a syllable, and when written together, they formed words that a single character in "men's writing" would represent. Unlike Men's Writing, which had thousands of characters, _nu shu_ had only a few hundred. Oftentimes, the meaning of the messages are only interpreted through context, and if one was not careful, they could get a meaning out of a message that is drastically different than the intended point.

For example, words like _pear, pair _and _pare_ could be used, and the true meaning is based on the context of the sentence. It was a rather well-developed system, and something that impressed me all the more about the women of China. For all that they put up with—foot-binding, arranged marriages, spousal abuse, childbirth, abuse by their in-laws, high rates of suicide as widows, drowning or abandonment as babies—they still managed to survive. I highly doubt any man would be so resilient if faced with the same treatment.

Yeying ended up spending the rest of the day teaching me the ins and outs about _nu shu_, and ended up revealing a lot about womanhood in general. Some things made me all the more glad I was born male. Others, made me slightly jealous. They were clearly smarter, and more resourceful, something only confirmed later as I taught Masters Tigress and Viper.

By that afternoon, thanks to Yeying, I learned more about women than I think any man would ever know.

I finally asked her the question that has plagued men for centuries: "Yeying, what do women want the most? Of anything in the world, is it riches, jewelry, beauty, love?"

She shook her head, smiling as if I were a child asking a stupid question. "You think we're _that_ superficial?"

"No, of course not! I just, you've told me so much, but what I really want to know is…what women want. What they _really_ want."

She thought about it for a second, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. Then when she opened her eyes, she smiled at me. "What do women want?"

"Yes," I said.

"What women desire most…is to be their own person."

I paused. "That's it?"

"That's it."

"So…they just want freedom?"

"Not just freedom. All we want…is to have the same sovereignty that men enjoy. We don't want to be equal—we know we're not the same. But we want the same freedom. Does that make sense?"

It made perfect sense. Finally, I had an answer to a question that had made philosophers ponder and lament lack of answers, for truly women are a mysterious breed in and of themselves. But in that moment, knowing what I knew then…perhaps men and women were not so different after all. Perhaps Yeying and I were more alike, and more suited for one another, than we ever guessed.

* * *

Another year passed.

It was the year I turned twenty-one; Yeying would be twenty by the end of the summer.

Ren didn't stay long at the Jade Palace. He returned in autumn, in the same year I turned twenty, to the Forbidden City, and he was not to return until the next summer. Borte was going with him; apparently they had become fast friends in the past two years. And thanks to Oogway's instruction, she had learned much of how we Chinese think, and she had taught him a fair deal about Mongols as well. It was a fortunate partnership.

The night before Ren was to leave, I recall returning to the bunkhouse to catch some sleep. Shan was sitting out on the porch with Ochir and Yeying, all three looking quite tired, a little irritable, and packing the bedrolls they used for camping.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Tonight's a good night for sleeping under the stars," Ochir said.

"Um, okay…is it just you guys?"

"No," Yeying said. "You're coming too."

"I don't get a say in this?"

"Nope."

"What's wrong with sleeping in the bunkhouse?"

Shan spoke up, irritable from exhaustion, "Because Ren and Li are _not_ sleeping."

My eye began to twitch again. "…Oh…"

"Earplugs don't do a damn thing, by the way."

"Really? They've worked before…"

"Not tonight," Yeying said. "I'm thinking the peach tree is a good place."

"Peach tree is a _great_ place," Ochir agreed.

I sighed, picking up the bedroll Yeying had provided for me. As much as we griped about camping out that night, none of us would say anything against the lovers. After all, Ren would be gone for three months, possibly six, if he stayed the winter. It would be a long time until they saw each other again.

* * *

Nearly six months after Ren left, we received a letter from Yeying's natal village. I had just turned twenty-one, and Yeying was just a month shy of twenty.

Oogway read the letter for her…and she cursed loudly in a way that shocked even our master.

Her father was coming to visit. They had not spoken since she had arrived at the Jade Palace, and heaven only knew what kind of mood he'd be in, what kind of man he was, and how he'd treat his daughter. The news from the last year notwithstanding, that he was proud of her, wasn't enough to exonerate him in my eyes. He had almost condemned his daughter to a life of domestic servitude, crippled feet, and the threat of abuse and an early death from any number of things. I could not forgive him for this, ever.

* * *

He arrived three weeks later, followed by a half dozen attendants. He was a chancellor, apparently, a fourth-level scholar of the Imperial rank. So yes, he was a rather important person. No wonder Miao Li's family wanted her to marry him; it was an auspicious match for any woman.

But as we stood at the top of the thousand steps, just outside the main gates, the five of us did our best to comfort Yeying. She was nervous, and rightly so. We were nervous _for_ her. However her father would behave, we would back her up, and banish him if we had to.

Below, we saw the flags and banners announcing his arrival. Before long, the group of seven came closer…

And there he was, Chancellor Miao. Like his daughter and his wife, he was cream-colored from head to toe, with face and paws a deep brown. His face was more angular, with an aquiline nose, and almond-shaped eyes, his whiskers forming a long mustache that fell down his face. He was richly dressed in a sunny yellow robe, emblazoned with embroidered tigers—a symbol of his rank.

The male cat saw his daughter and stopped, a look of shock and awe on his face. Yeying stared back at him, bracing herself for…something. I think she expected him to yell at her, to say how disappointed he was that she was not yet married, or that her feet were unbound…

Instead, he walked straight up to her, hugging her tightly. "My little kitten, so grown up…" he smiled warmly at her, "And as beautiful as your mother…"

"Father?"

"Look at you…how could I have missed all of this? It seems only yesterday you were a kitten, and now you're a woman…one with an honored reputation that puts her brothers to shame. Can you imagine, a woman outdoing her own brothers? Unorthodox, but that doesn't mean I'm not proud." He smiled, and slowly, so did she. After she hugged him, he pulled away and looked around, "Now where is…ah, there he is!"

Then he moved over and hugged Shan, who was utterly confused, as were the rest of us. "Well! It appears my daughter inherited her mother's good taste, if I say so myself! What a man you are, I bet you've made your parents proud!"

"Um…" the snow leopard paused. "I'm not entirely sure that I have—they've been dead the past twenty years," he answered bluntly.

An awkward silence followed, but apparently Chancellor Miao wasn't deterred. "Ah, but you are still a strong warrior, carrying on your family's name, yes?"

"As the only living son, I suppose I am…"

"Splendid! A long line of capable warriors? Or scholars?"

"I can't exactly say…"

"Ah! Say no more, say no more! Song, what—"

Yeying cleared her throat, "Father, my name is Yeying now. And that is Master Xue Shan. I wrote about him in my letters to Mother…"

"Did you? This is the first time I recall…"

"He used to be named Zigsa."

The Chancellor paused, then slowly smiled as he digested this information. "Ah, yes, yes, I _do_ recall him now…but, look at what becoming a master has done for him! Such a mature and proud individual…"

"Um," was all Shan could get out before the Chancellor continued on his exultation of this snow leopard he barely knew.

"Must be _feared_ by all of his enemies…"

"…Actually…"

"…Scourge of the Huns!"

"Yeah, about that…"

"…and now my daughter's husband, and my first and only son-in-law!"

"WHAT?"

Our jaws dropped.

Well, this was news to _us_…

Especially to Shan and Yeying; Yeying's expression changed from one of shock to one of utter dismay. Unfortunately, Shan was not so good at reading expressions…or hiding them, if the one currently on his visage was any indication.

Chancellor Miao looked between his daughter and "son-in-law" with a quizzical expression. "What, what? Don't tell me you aren't married yet!"

"Um…" Yeying paused. "Actually…"

"No matter," he waved it off. "It gives your mother time to plan your wedding the way she always wanted to."

"But Father…"

"Now, Daughter," he said tenderly, taking her hands in his. "I know you've had expectations about your wedding day, but its enough that I allowed you to choose any man you desired, is it not?"

"Of course it is, and I'm eternally grateful for that, but…"

"So surely there is no trouble in allowing us to handle the rest of the arrangements, yes? Granted, the question of dowry is complicated by the fact the groom has no family, but we can work around that."

"Um, sir…" Shan started to say.

"Ah, there'll be no 'sirs' in this household!" he said, proudly smiling at the snow leopard. "From now on, you can call me 'Dad'!"

I saw Yeying slap her palm to her forehead. Both Li and Ochir were finding it very hard not to sputter out laughing. For my part, I wasn't amused so much as…well, I'm fairly certain my eyes turned to quite a vivid shade of green in that moment.

"That's…great, that's really great," Shan said. "But the thing is, I'm not…"

"Ready? That's fine, everyone gets cold feet!"

"No, it's not that, it's…"

"Not rich enough? Well…" he seemed to see Shan's lack of savings and income as a problem. "Perhaps…no, I promised my little kitten that she could marry whomever she desired, rich or poor, and if she wants you, who am I to say…"

"She _doesn't_ want me, sir!" Shan suddenly snapped. "Yeying and I are _not_ getting married!"

The Chancellor looked at him, scandalized. "W-what?! Why not?! Can't you see her, how beautiful she is?"

Shan chose his next words judiciously. "I…can safely say I've never _seen_ anyone else like her."

Ochir was nearly dying with suppressed laughter, finding it harder to hold it in. Li was biting his lip so hard, I thought he was about to cram his fist into his mouth. The Chancellor shot them a dirty look, then continued to rail at Shan,

"Then what is wrong? She is intelligent, obedient…no one wants a foolish wife, right?"

"Well, of course not, but obedience isn't everything…"

"Bah, that's _everything_ in a relationship! That's how it works, one is lord and master over the other, and the other half is subservient to…"

"If that were the case, and _if_ your daughter and I were engaged, _she_ would be the master…"

Now the poor cat was thoroughly confused. "Wait…you are _not_ going to marry my daughter? You have no interest in her?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested, Chancellor Miao," Shan said. "But I know when I'm outclassed." At the time, I thought he meant Yeying outclassed him. I had no idea that _I_ was the source of that implication.

"Nonsense!" Miao decried. "Where is the one who is staking a claim to her? I'm sure you stand head and shoulders over him!"

Even though I knew he couldn't physically _look_ at me, I averted my eyes from Shan's face. Though the Chancellor's unintended insult did sting slightly, I had to keep my cool. Heaven knew _someone_ would have to…

"FATHER!" Yeying said sharply. "I am not engaged to _anyone_, nor am I _interested_ in anyone!"

Her father paused to think this over, and when he saw she was clearly not lying, he became incensed. "Not married! _Not_ _married_?! Hell's teeth, child, I'd be happy with a _boyfriend_ at this point!"

"Father, I don't have the _time_ for that! I'm traveling everywhere, all across China with my friends; I have a career, and I like it!" she said, getting the chance to stand up to the man who would have turned her into a cripple if it meant making a good marriage for her. I admit that I felt no love for that cat for what he almost did to her, but as I later learned—and keep learning about people, into my old age—there was more to what that Chancellor was meaning when he wanted his little girl married off.

"You could take any pick of these men if you so chose!" he snapped, pointing at each of us. "It would make me feel much better if it _were_ one of them, not having any other women around to protect you!"

"From _what?_ Do you really think that _any_ of them would actually do something like that? These are _masters of kung fu_, and they have far more honor than that!"

"Then why doesn't _he_ act on that honor," he said, pointing an accusatory finger at Shan, "and marry _you_?!"

"Because he doesn't love me, and I don't love him!" she shouted. She was panting, like she had run a great distance, staring down her father. "That was our deal, wasn't it?"

Well, we were all thoroughly confused by this point. Even though Ochir and Li were nearly dying of laughter, and Shan was visibly debating whether or not to run and hide from a crazy potential in-law, I finally garnered the courage to speak up.

"Um, hate to break this up…but clarification would be nice."

"And you are?" the Chancellor drawled.

I drew myself up to my full height as I addressed him, "I am Master Shifu." Years later, I am still amazed how I managed to say that with such authority that the cat actually _cowed _in my presence. "And I am Master Yeying's comrade in arms, and close friend. As we all are…and we are puzzled by all of this marriage talk…"

The Chancellor turned to her, aghast, "You never _told_ them?"

Yeying lowered her eyes, her cheeks reddening. "I…it didn't seem like such a big deal at the time. I mean…it didn't seem important…"

"Important until the deadline is just about up! You and I had a deal—you were to be married by your twentieth birthday, or nothing I do, or any power I had, could help you!"

"Father, I am a master of kung fu!" she snapped. "I can fight them off!"

"Fight _who_ off?" Ochir asked, suddenly serious. "Someone coming after you, someone I gotta rough up?"

"Of _course_ someone's after her!" her father scoffed, finishing off his rant. "The same one who's been after her since she was born! The same one who wanted her feet bound before marriage! The same one whose tail I've had to kiss the past twenty years to keep assuaged long enough to give _her_ the chance to escape that fate…and she has done nothing about it!"

The courtyard was silent, the only sound the wind through the tree branches. Yeying's red-tinged face was now suddenly very pale. I had pieced it all together by now.

After Oogway had adopted her and refused to allow her feet to be bound, Yeying's father must have cut a deal with her and her suitor's family, saying that as long as she was still a student of kung fu, she would not be married. But as soon as she became a master—or reached her twentieth birthday, whichever came first—she had to get married either to someone else of her choosing, or marry the lout who wanted her to be little more than a crippled porcelain doll.

I could detest that father of hers all I wanted, but the fact remained that he had given her a chance to get out of it entirely…and she had never acted on it.

She had to be married by the time she was twenty years old…and that was in seven days.

* * *

"Why didn't you tell us?"

Yeying sighed, facedown on her bed and groaning. The five of us were all there in her room—Shan hiding in her closet in case her father came in and tried to convince (read: force) him into marriage with her—and the rest of us standing by her bed.

"Look," she sighed, sitting up, "If the dirty lout wants to make me his bride, he'll have to come here and take me away himself."

"Yeying, we're hoping to stop this from happening—not kill anyone!" I said.

"Wait, you mean we're _not_ killing him?" Ochir asked, overprotective as always.

Li shook his head, "Look, something's got to happen. Either Yeying gets married to someone, or she gets taken away…"

"Over my dead body!" I snapped viciously. I was furious, "Whoever he is, he's not getting her!"

"Well, what do you want, Shifu?" she rolled her eyes. "To marry me?"

I wanted to scream, "Uh, yes. _Yes_. YES!"

But I faltered, my tongue refused to work.

Shan suddenly slammed the closet door open, an expression of 'eureka!' on his face. "That's it!"

"Huh?" we all asked.

He grabbed me and Yeying and sat us together on her bed, frantically pointing at me. "Marry him! Marry _him!_"

She and I shared a look, then she stared at him. "No offense to Shifu, but are you crazy?"

"Crazy like a fox!" the snow leopard said excitedly.

"That's _my_ line, jackass," Li snorted with an arched brow.

"No, wait! Hear me out!" he said excitedly, nearly tripping over himself in his excitement; apparently he believed this to be an excellent idea. "Yeying, if you marry Shifu—you know, 'marry' him," he said, winking theatrically and making quote marks in the air with his fingers, "…in front of your father and a couple other witnesses, then _you're_ off the hook, Daddy leaves to tell Not-Future-In-Law to take a hike, and he also leaves _me_ alone for the rest of my life!"

"What about me?" I asked.

"Shifu, you're getting _married_ to _Yeying_. Think about this for a second."

"Yeah, but…I can't give her children…"

"And vice versa," she pointed out, blushing a little bit.

"Who the hell cares?! That's the deal, isn't it? That your dad allowed you to marry _whomever_ you wished in order to get out of this arranged marriage, did it say anywhere in your agreement that your groom had to be _feline_? Besides, it doesn't need to be a legally binding wedding—it just needs to _look_ like one!"

She thought about it, then it dawned on her. And the rest of us. As much as I cringe to think it now, at that time, it was a great idea. Leave it to Xue Shan to find the loopholes…

It was the perfect idea…except for convincing Daddy Dearest we were actually getting married.

Part of me had always fantasized about spending the rest of my life with her; while I should have been excited, the idea of actually going through a ceremony that _could_ be binding and permanent with someone who probably didn't love me as I loved her was terrifying in the very least.

Ochir said after a long silence, "I think you have officially lost your damn mind."

* * *

"Wait," Po paused the story. "Shifu was married? To Yeying?"

"Hold on, maybe it says..." Mantis said as he furiously scanned the rest of the scroll, which made Viper call out, "Hey, no reading ahead!"

"Come on, I just wanna see what happens!"

"Then we read the scroll through, the whole thing!" she argued. Crane and Monkey shared a look and rolled their eyes.

"Come on, lets focus," Monkey said. "It said in the scroll that the marriage—if it happened—wasn't legally binding. That means that if there was a ceremony…"

"It was a ruse," Crane finished.

"Dude," Po said. "What a cop out."

Tigress said nothing—during the recital, she had lost her voice. Her expressions said enough though, as Po kept pouring her more and more Laryngitis Cure Soup, which in all honesty, was chilled peach soup…with noodles. The poor feline looked ready to gag.

Po poured more for her; she pushed the bowl away, turning away her head.

"Oh come on, its not that bad—it soothes your throat, right? Come on, Tigress, just one more bowl…"

She shook her head vehemently, closing her eyes and pursing her lips tightly like a child not wanting to eat their vegetables. If it wasn't so annoying to try and get her to take her medicine, Po would have thought the voiceless cat looked positively adorable in her refusal.

One thing that made it easier—when she was sick, she let her guard down too easily.

Po waited until she had turned away to pull out a bottle of medicinal throat syrup, and poured some into her tea.

Unfortunately for him, she caught him. He looked up at her furious expression, gave a sheepish grin and tried to cover his tail: "Um…it's not more soup, at least. And it's good for you—"

She unsheathed her claws.

"Gah! Okay, okay, be cool, I didn't mean anything by it!" Po begged for mercy.

Mantis finally shouted at them, "Hey, Lovebirds! You mind stalling the googly-eyed flirting so we can continue?"

Po glared at the insect for the insinuation, "We're _not_ flirting!"

Tigress opened her mouth to yell "and we're not lovebirds!" but all that came out was a gargled mew. He smirked in triumph.

Instead, she then shot the insect a dirty look. Mantis inwardly gulped. If he didn't find a good place to hide after this was over, he was _in_ for it.

* * *

Poor Tigress. I love Chilled Peach soup and Gazpacho as much as the next person, but I gotta draw the line somewhere. Have also had laryngitis on numerous occasions, and losing your voice is not fun. Am I being cruel to her by giving her such a bad illness? Probably. But I look at it as karma for how she treated Po in the movie. Zing!

Read and review please! And once again, whether you celebrate Hannukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Eid-al-Fadr, Festivus, Yule, or some mismatch of the aforementioned, whatever holiday you celebrate, have a great one!

- Luna


	13. Chapter 13

Merry Christmas one and all! Here's my little gift for you! A nice long chapter for all you lovely readers! Have a happy one!

* * *

Disclaimer: Don't own the panda, Dreamworks does. I own the OCs and the plot.

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

* * *

Chapter 13

* * *

They took a short break to scrounge something together for dinner—although in Po's case, "scrounging" took a different meaning. They settled themselves in the warmth of the kitchen, by the stove to stave off the chill outside.

While the winds howled and snow blew in blinding droves, the six kung fu masters were nice and cozy, and waiting on Mantis to continue reading the rest of the scroll.

His appetite satiated, he took a drink of water and began on the rest of the scroll, careful not to read ahead and face Viper's wrath.

* * *

Convincing Yeying's father that she and I were an item wouldn't be much of a problem…from my end, at least. The real trick was making it look like we were actually getting married. I had no reason to impress the man; as far as I was concerned, I took to heart that he would be "glad for a boyfriend at this point". He clearly didn't care _who_ his daughter married, as long as it wasn't the one she had been _arranged_ to marry. The fact the Chancellor had thought Xue Shan was his son-in-law was purely because Shan was similarly feline, and could give him grandchildren to spoil.

Now, I like children as much as the next person, but the concept of having some of my own, and running the risk of not knowing what the hell I was doing…that terrified me. I could teach, certainly, but _raise_ a tiny creature with a blank slate into a fully functioning adult? It amazes me that some people _want_ that responsibility!

Yet Yeying had never specified if starting a family was on her to-do list. I wagered it wasn't, because, as she had put it, she had a career, a purpose in life, and she was happy the way it was. We were all happy with where we were. There were some things—minor things—we desired, but nothing major.

Ochir wanted to open his own school one day. Dong Li wanted to be with Ren, unequivocally, unconditionally, and irrevocably, a sentiment similarly shared by his lover; they were in love, and nothing would ever change that. Much to my surprise, Shan was content with simply being a master. He didn't teach—he spent most of his time meditating, spending time in the village temple, reading texts of philosophy, and developing his senses further. I can only pretend to guess what Yeying wanted at this point, aside from keeping the status quo. But I knew what I wanted…and that was her.

* * *

"Why do _I_ have to do this?!"

"You're the one marrying her!" Li said. "Its tradition!"

"This tradition _sucks_," I muttered.

Ochir just patted me on the back, "Come on, it can't be _that_ bad. I mean, you heard how desperate he is to avoid whats-his-face becoming his son-in-law…all in all, he could do worse than you."

"He'll still want Shan to marry her…which reminds me, where is he?"

The two of them smirked. "He's hiding," Ochir said. "Apparently Oogway took pity on him and sent him on a 'special mission'."

Li translated: "He's hiding in the Sacred Hall of Warriors, organizing the Thousand Scrolls. He'll be busy for months, by the sound of it."

"Lucky bastard," I muttered. I would have given anything to be doing that instead of what I was about to do.

The three of us walked around, finding a garden at the back of the palace. It was one of many places we used to meditate, and for good reason. There was a natural gurgling brook that cascaded down a low waterfall, into a pond full of water lilies, lotus blossoms and cattails. Dragonflies, frogs and water beetles were a common sight here, as was the gentle scent of the magnolia blossoms in late spring.

Chancellor Miao was standing under one of the trees—a cherry tree, whose fruit was just beginning to form—looking upon a statuary of a beloved kung fu master who had passed away a long time before my arrival at the Jade Palace.

With one last encouraging nod from Li and Ochir, I stepped forward into the garden, completely on my own, and at the mercy of a powerful man.

"I see you found the resting place of Master Dog," I said.

Miao looked up, spotted me, and nodded, offering a slight smile, "It would seem so. Did you know him?"

"It was long before my time—he died ten years before I was even born," I explained. "But we use his story as an example."

"He was a good warrior, I take it? I suppose his being a master says enough."

I shook my head, "Being a master doesn't necessarily make you a better person, much like being a politician doesn't make you a better leader. No offense, but I've met plenty of politicians who are not good people at all."

He smirked, shaking his head, "No offense taken—I _know_ many of them. If the pay and benefits weren't so good, I'd still be a merchant."

"Oh, you were a merchant? What was your trade?" I was grasping for anything; something we had to have in common, perhaps, anything that would make this go easier…

"Silks," he said proudly. "I did a lot of business near the Zhou Tong region."

"Did you? I was born there."

He turned to me. "Really, which village?"

"Southern Zhou Tong. My family were rice farmers. The next village over, I think, was the silk production…"

His brows rose in recognition. "Are you any relation to Tzu?"

No way. No, it wasn't possible…

"I thought you looked familiar…" he smiled a little. "You look like him."

"I, ah, I get that a lot. How did you know him?"

"Ah, only met him once or twice—before he was even married. I haven't spoken to him in years. He's well, I take it?"

I smiled proudly, "He was made the village's headman, about two years ago, after the Battle at Red Claw Ridge."

That was the title it was given, after the slain tiger. Hardly anyone spoke the name with reverence anymore. In any case, Miao looked impressed…even genuinely happy. "Good. A good man like him deserves good fortune."

"Good fortune is not the result of _being_ a good person," I said. "Whatever success comes to you is because of the work you put into it."

He regarded me, suspiciously, I thought, before asking, "How old are you?"

"I have twenty-one years, sir."

"You're very well-spoken for one so young, and for being a rice farmer's son."

I smiled, blushing a little from the compliment, "I owe that to Master Oogway. He took me in when I was four, raised me here, he taught me how to read, write, and taught me philosophy, as well as kung fu. He has taught Yeying a lot too. Do you have any idea how brilliant she is?" Now I was getting to the subject I wanted to discuss with him.

The Chancellor paused, then walked over to a bench, sitting down with a sigh. Looking out over the pond and waterfall, he shook his head and removed his hat, again sighing dejectedly, "She does love it here, doesn't she?"

"Needless to say, sir, she enjoys more freedom than most women," I pointed out, standing next to him.

"That was her mother's wish," he confessed. "It was her mother's wish to see her happily married…the one condition, Li told me, that should we have a daughter, she would marry for love."

"You arranged a marriage anyway," I said, not bothering to hide the accusation.

"I had no choice in that matter!" he hissed. "When my little Song was born, we were hit on hard times. Bandits were ruining my trade, and drought had destroyed the silk production. I was desperate to keep my family afloat…and one of my creditors demanded compensation. Once he heard I had a daughter…well, he demanded her in exchange for the money I had to borrow from him."

"So you were going to sell him your own daughter?" I said angrily. "I don't get you—you come here, acting like Yeying is the world to you, and here you are telling me that she is worthless enough to sell like—"

"Don't you DARE call her worthless!" he snapped, standing and hissing at me. He jabbed his finger into chest, making me step back at the force of his tirade. "She is _not_ worthless! She has _never_ been worthless. I did everything I could within my power to keep her from that marriage…" he took a deep breath, let it out, and smiled thinly, "And, fortunately, your master played right into my plan."

"Plan? What plan?"

"My ordering my daughter to return home to begin footbinding—did you really think, that my wife, being who she is, that I would do such a thing to my own daughter? The idea was tempting, I admit, because we were still struggling…but Oogway sealed it. That was the creditor's only condition; that she have lily feet—once that was struck down, I thought they would leave it alone. By luck brought only from the ancestors, I became a chancellor in the Emperor's court, paid back all my debts, and then some…but they still wanted her. What would you have me do, Master Shifu?"

"You owe that man nothing," I said sternly. "And if he has any problem with it, tell him to take it up with _me_—I'd be happy to show him the light."

Show him the light, punch his lights out…same thing.

Chancellor Miao stared at me a moment, then said quietly, "You care about her."

"More than you know, sir," I said truthfully. "Yeying's actually the reason I came looking for you…"

"Has she agreed to marry that snow leopard?"

"Ah, no…he seems to have run off the mountain. Don't ask me where he is—if Master Xue Shan does not want to be found, he won't be found."

"Brilliant," he said, rolling his eyes. "So much for having grandchildren to spoil! Are there any others?"

"First, let me ask you this: do you care whom she marries, as long as it's not the creditor's son?" my heart began pounding so hard, the coursing blood through my veins sounded like a thousand gongs in my ears. I was so nervous, when I didn't think I should have been. I was more nervous than I had been before facing the Huns. However I expected this exchange to go, I could never have foretold what the Chancellor would say next:

"First of all, Master Shifu, it is not the son who wants her."

My mind ground to a halt…and yes, my left eye began to twitch again. It was the creditor, not his son, who wanted to marry Yeying? "Wait…isn't he…"

"Old? Yes," he grumbled. "At this point, all he wants my daughter for is as a concubine."

"Oh, the _hell_ with that!" I snapped, and finally blurted out, "Chancellor, I came here to ask you for your daughter's hand in marriage."

I didn't think that garden could ever get so quiet. Even the frogs, crickets, and other noises ceased after my pronouncement. Chancellor Miao was staring at me in shock, mouth agape.

"Uh…I mean," I bowed, "I humbly beg for your blessing to marry your daughter, Yeying."

Hadn't I said that right? I didn't think I could screw _that_ up.

When he finally found his voice, he was staring at me in shock, yet with a thoughtful look on his face. "You…want to marry my daughter?"

"Yes, sir, I do." I looked him in the eye. "I don't know how to say this—I'm not the best with words—but I love your daughter. I've loved her since she first punched me in the face…"

He burst out laughing when I said this, "Oh no, you too? Poor man…I do feel sorry…"

"Don't be—those baby teeth would have fallen out anyway." I was still serious, despite wanting to laugh to ease the tension I felt. I needed to demonstrate how serious I was; he _needed_ to know how serious I was. "I love her, and I've loved her for a long time. To think of anything happening to her…it hurts. The others are protective of her, too, but I…Chancellor," I sighed, "I would kill for her, and I would gladly die for her. I can't think of…of what my life would be like without her here. It's not a life I would want to live."

"She can't give you children, nor you give the same to her," he pointed out.

"I don't care," I said. "The children don't matter—_she_ matters. I love her, can't you see? I love how she isn't a morning person, how she's more violent than usual before her morning tea…" and here I went down a long list of all the things I loved about her. Some were sweet, others mildly humorous. But all of it was from the heart, and I was desperately hoping her father could see that.

"Sir, I love her smile, her laugh, I love how she's allergic to strawberries, that her favorite color is lavender, her favorite food shrimp lo mein, and that her favorite flowers are peonies; I love that, though she's small, she invokes fear in her enemies. I love her intelligence, her sense of humor, the sarcastic jokes she tells. I mean, of course I love the way she looks: she has the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen, a face like a porcelain doll…she's so beautiful, so good and pure…you're lucky she's your daughter, and even if she _never_ knew I loved her as I do, I'm still lucky to have known her all these years."

He watched me, visibly pondering this. Then he asked, "Does she know?"

I wanted to lie…I _should_ have lied. "No."

"I see…so you ask for her hand, when you have no idea how she feels about you? How can I grant your request when I have promised her to marry whom she loves, when it is not clear if she loves you?"

It should have been obvious by then, but again, I'm not the most observant person. Hindsight is the clearest sight of all, and if I had known that then, I would have known how she'd felt when I was fourteen…

"I don't want anything to happen to her," I said. "If this is the only way I can protect her, then I will. If that guy wants her so badly, he can fight me for her. I was serious when I said I'd die for her."

"I can see that," he said; he glanced over my shoulder, and I presumed then that Li and Ochir were still standing there. How wrong I was… "What do you say to that, daughter?"

I froze, and I swore my heart stopped for a moment. Whirling around, my eyes locked with Yeying's.

She had seen and heard everything.

* * *

"Oh snap," Mantis coughed, briefly interrupting his narrative.

Viper glared at him, hissing menacingly; when he cowed and quieted down, she sighed wistfully, "How romantic!"

"Um, Viper, Yeying hasn't said how she feels yet…" Tigress said.

"Doesn't matter—I wish someone would say something like that about me," the serpent said dreamily.

Tigress and Po shared a look across the room, then both rolled their eyes. For her part, Tigress didn't want to admit that she shared Viper's feelings…after all, what woman _wouldn't_ want to hear sweet things like that?

While Tigress was confusedly figuring out where she stood on romance in general, Po's only thought was: _Wow, Shifu really knows how to charm the ladies. I wonder if he'll give lessons…_

Monkey took the scroll away from Mantis, who was making numerous unprintably crude insinuations, and continued.

* * *

Chancellor Miao looked between the two of us and sighed wearily. "As happy as I am that _someone_ has come forward…I believe there is much for you to discuss. I will leave you be…"

I wanted to stop him from leaving. As nervous as I had been about asking his permission to marry his daughter, facing Yeying _now_ was an even scarier thought. But the old cat just walked out of the garden, pausing only long enough to squeeze his daughter's shoulder, then he was gone.

We were alone.

And I felt like fainting.

"Shifu?" she asked softly; it was like the gentle coo of a dove.

I couldn't raise my eyes to look at her. This was not how I wanted it to go. I had planned in my head how I would do it, how I would finally tell her I loved her…and this wasn't it.

"Shifu, talk to me," she said, a little sternly.

"What do you want me to say?" I asked.

She paused, thinking it over, then I heard her sigh. "Look, I really appreciate what you're doing, but this is something I need to handle myself."

"Yeying, you can't fight this guy—don't you think there's a reason your father wanted this to happen?"

"He doesn't want me to get married, Shifu—he just wants me to not be married to that creditor. If I can fight him off, then he'll leave."

"No he won't," I said, finally looking up at her. "The only way he will give up is if you kill him."

"Fine, then I will."

"You idiot!" I snapped. "You know the law—if a woman kills a man, the punishment is much worse for her than it would be for _any_ man!"

"And what, you're going to fight my battle for me?"

"Of course I am!"

"Why?!"

"Because I _love_ you, that's why!"

She paused, probably taken aback by my outburst. She recovered herself quickly, "I don't need you fighting my battles for me!"

"You can't do this alone, you need help!"

"I don't _need_ your help!"

"Why are you refusing any help?" I finally asked in exasperation. "Is it because you're a woman, and you think that asking any of us men for help somehow makes you weak?"

Her temper flared and she finally exploded, "YES, ALL RIGHT?! If I ask you for help, that makes me a poor, weak, stupid woman! Is that what you wanted to hear?!"

"Ying, you're not stupid, nor are you weak—we all know that," I said, hoping my softer tone would calm her down.

"Then let me do this, Shifu," she pleaded.

"You know I can't stand by and watch you get hurt."

"You don't even know who this man is!" she shook her head. "You don't know what he's capable of!"

"Well clearly he's capable of ruining your family, otherwise your dad wouldn't have had to kiss up to him all these years—and don't you dare defend him!" I shouted, pointing at her. "He would have hurt you, he would have ruined your life to save his own, and I can never forgive him for that."

"Then why did you ask him for my hand first?"

"Because it's the honorable thing to do," I said. "Because it's…"

Tradition. Hadn't my entire argument been _against_ tradition, and breaking those old rules? And now that I was about to admit I was guilty of conforming to an ancient ritual…well, it tore down my whole argument, and Yeying's rebuttal was anything but kind.

"I thought so. You really aren't any different than the way you were as a child—you still think girls have no place in kung fu."

I interrupted her, "If I believed that, why would I bother teaching them at all?!"

"You think women are inferior, admit it!"

"I know they're too damn stubborn for their own good, if _you_ are any indication of your sex!"

"How _dare_ you, you overstuffed, pompous—"

"GOOD NEWS!" Shan came out of nowhere, grabbing us both in a tight hug. Well, that was one way to end an argument; crushing the air out of one's lungs generally changes the direction in which your mind was going.

When he finally released us, gasping for air, he, just as excitedly as before, detailed his plan:

"I found Li and Ochir, and they agreed that this idea: solid! Get married, like, tonight, and then…"

"We're not getting married," Yeying said coldly. Shan's hand fell on her face—to make sure it was her he was speaking to—and he said, "'Ying, love you like a sister, but you _kinda_ need to do something about…"

"Shifu's made it pretty clear how he feels about me," she glared at me.

"Ah. So have you told _him_ yet?"

What? I stared at her.

Yeying's face paled, and avoided my gaze; I caught myself wondering…did she…love me?

Shan took the ensuing silence as a chance to continue laying out his plan. "Swell. Okay, like I was saying, I was going through the Scrolls, and Li and Ochir were helping me, and we came across a copy of the law book of the Valley of Peace—the one Oogway penned five hundred years ago—and in there were marriage laws, right? Well, unfortunately we can't _fake_ the marriage—the ceremony has to be legally binding. BUT, there _is_ a loophole!"

"What is it with you and loopholes?" I asked.

He continued as if he hadn't heard me, handing me the massive scroll in question. "Turn to block 387, and read about halfway down the page…"

He handed the scroll over to us, and we read it aloud, "Merchants are required to inventory their wares on the first and third Fridays of every month…"

"Oops, sorry, try 367."

"In the event of a marriage that exhibits high levels of stress for either party, or for any of the following reasons: fraud, irreconcilable differences, domestic abuse, substance abuse, and/or adultery, the marriage may therefore be dissolved with the summation of either spouse reciting "I divorce thee" three times in a public forum."

Yeying and I shared a look. Then we smiled.

"So…" I began slowly. "We can still get married, let the lout see the marital status…"

"And then we can always get divorced!" she finished with a grin.

"EXACTLY!" Shan said. "Damn I'm good."

"But wait, if we get divorced," I wondered, "Doesn't that give the lout a free pass to you?" I asked her.

"He wants a virgin," she explained.

Oh, well that wasn't a prob—

Wait.

Virgin?

That meant…oh boy.

"That's not exactly…necessary, is it?" I asked.

"Ah, not exactly," Shan said slowly, thinking about it. "I think that a marriage dissolved within a month's time is considered…what's the word…?"

"Annulled?" Yeying offered.

"That's it! Anything after that—and after consummation—needs to be a divorce."

Of course. The lout wanted a virgin bride, and if the marriage were simply annulled, and if Yeying were still a virgin, she was still at risk of marrying him anyway.

"So, consummation is necessary in a divorce?"

I swore Shan was enjoying how uncomfortable I was getting. "If I didn't know any better…"

"Shan, I'm straight," I said curtly, giving him a glare I knew he couldn't see.

"Oh I know you are," he grinned wickedly. "I've caught you peeping on Yeying too many times to think you're gay."

"That was YOU?!" she roared at me.

"CHANGE OF SUBJECT!" I screamed. "How soon do we need to do this?!"

"When's your birthday, 'Ying?"

"The end of next week…"

"So we have six days. Like it or not, it looks like you two are going to have to get down and dirty with each other in five days."

* * *

One would think the opportunity for fornication in a legal setting would make any young man happy. Instead, I was petrified. At the time, yes, I was still a virgin, as most—well, a good half—of men were before getting married. Most people, I thought, were virgins before marriage, though in some cases, even in the valley, the bride had a bun in the oven by the time they made it to the family temple's altar.

There was plenty I didn't know, and that worried me. Yeying's welfare was foremost on my mind, but the idea of a wedding was starting to appeal less and less, and it wasn't because of cold feet.

I wouldn't get good advice from Ochir on this; he wasn't exactly the ladies' man. Shan was out of the question, considering how he enjoyed making me uncomfortable. I suppose I could have asked Li, but that was one uncomfortable conversation too many for one day; and besides that, his type of _experience_ was not likely to be of much use to me. Therefore, I went to the only person who I thought could help with my plight.

"Master?"

He was meditating under the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom, but paused at my approach. "Ah, Shifu, good, good…would you like to join me? It is a lovely evening for self-reflection…"

"Maybe another time…we have a problem."

"Not the way I see it—you and Yeying are getting married!" He sounded so excited, so happy for us…I hated to disappoint him.

"I know, that's the problem," I sighed.

"Is it?" he asked rhetorically.

"Master _please_, not now. _Please_ give me a straight answer! I need to know what to do!" I begged.

"What would anyone do?"

"Okay, that's a good start, but I need a _straight_ answer."

"I'm giving you one."

"No you're not!" I snapped, my tail frizzing up from stress.

"Shifu, calm yourself."

"I don't need to…"

He laid his palm on top of my head and pressed down until my knees buckled and I was kneeling by his side. The affair was so strange; it shocked me into silence, which he took advantage of, "Much better. Now, sit, and tell me what is on your mind."

I slumped down next to him and unloaded everything—and I mean everything--in quick succession:

"Okay, so Yeying was promised to marry this guy who lent money to her father a long time ago and in order to pay him back he arranged the marriage, and we thought the marriage was between Yeying and the son of the creditor but it turns out it's the old guy she's supposed to marry which is gross on _so_ many levels, and now we figure that if we can fake a wedding and make it look like she's married to someone—namely me—then her dad will leave to tell everyone his little girl is married and Creepy Old Gross Guy can take a hike, but we _can't_ fake a marriage in this valley so it needs to be legally binding and if we get it annulled that means she's in danger of marrying Creepy Old Gross Guy, but if we get divorced that means she and I—or, uh, whoever she marries—need to consummate _after_ the wedding, and oh, by the way, we have five days in order to do this!"

By the time I was finished, my fur stood on end, and my eye was twitching so much from the stress I thought it would just give up and close forever.

Master Oogway just stared a me for a moment, his face unreadable, then nodded. "Anything else?"

"I'm still a virgin," I muttered.

"There is nothing wrong with that, Shifu. In fact, it is rather admirable. But let me guess…you are less worried about the marriage, and more worried about what happens _after_, hmm?"

I felt my face grow hot, and I can only imagine how red I was. "Um, yeah…"

He chuckled, "I thought so. I have also been thinking long and hard about Yeying's precarious situation. I have had a vision…by the sunset of the fifth day, her betrothed will have come to claim her…"

I felt my blood turn to ice in my veins.

"…and something you have always had will be lost forever."

* * *

"Shit."

"_Shit_."

"Oh _shit_."

That was the only thing we four males could think to say. Yeying was still mad at me from earlier, so for the time being I was with Shan, Ochir and Li…all three now knew the vision Oogway had predicted.

"We're going to lose her," Shan said with a disembodied voice.

"No we're not," Ochir snorted. "That sonuvabitch can take her over my dead body, right Shifu?"

I was feeling defeated, completely, and utterly defeated. Yeying would not tolerate us fighting her battles for her, but if we didn't fight for her right to stay in the Valley of Peace, we would lose her forever. As much as I loved her, I could tolerate her not loving me back, and going off to marry someone else. To be someone's _wife_; this animal who was coming for her wanted her as a concubine.

Of course, the four of us loved her, how could we not? Without her, we were nothing, and we knew it. She pulled us together, was the one who kept us focused, the one who reminded us that despite our differences we were still comrades.

We each had our own reasons for wanting to stop this from happening, and what those reasons were for the others, I may never know. But we needed a plan.

"We need a plan," I said. "One that doesn't require marriage for anyone involved."

"I can't see of any other alternative," Li said sadly. "I suppose Shan could go ahead and…"

"NO," the snow leopard snapped. "No way in _hell_."

"Why is marrying Yeying such a problem?" I asked, insulted that he was so quick to cast her aside.

He turned his sightless eyes in my direction, "Because you've had a claim to her long before I _ever _arrived. She is water, I am fire; she keeps me in control, but too much and my fire dies. We would be _horrible _together. I love her, just like any of you…but not enough to be her baby daddy."

"Same," Li said.

"Not that you have much of a choice," Ochir snorted.

Li shrugged, "I like men more than I like kids, so what?"

Shan pointed at me, "But Shifu, the reason I chose you out of the four of us…"

"Aside from avoiding having the Chancellor as a father-in-law?" I asked.

"Yes, aside from that," he concurred, "I suggested you because…well, I didn't want to be the one to tell you this, because it's not really my secret to tell…"

"Then don't tell him," Ochir said quickly. "If she told you something in confidence, then it's between the two of you. She trusted you with it…"

"Some secrets are meant to be told, and this is one of them!"

"Guys!" I shouted, grabbing their attention. "Please, if this is something that can save her, then it needs to be said!"

I saw a look pass over their faces, one I didn't know how to interpret. Ochir nudged the snow cat, who took the non-verbal cue. "You need to talk to her. Confront her. There's something huge she needs to tell you, and if she agrees to it…" he sighed.

Li continued for him, "We can probably convince Master Oogway to preside over the ceremony—it won't be romantic or anything, just something that needs to be…"

I held up my hands to stop him, "At this point, I don't care anymore. I don't know if its actually going to happen."

"Don't you want it to happen?" Li asked. "I mean, you've loved her for most of your lives; this is just the next big step."

"But _she_ doesn't want it," I shook my head. I almost missed the look that Li and Ochir shared. "…what?"

Ochir snorted through his nostrils and gripped me by the scruff of my neck, yanking me off the floor. "Alright, I'm done—we're takin' your sorry ass over to her room."

"Ochir, her room's the other way…"

"No it's not. Her daddy moved her to the guest house—doesn't want her anywhere near men, least while he's here."

Ochir ended up dragging me by my scruff all the way to the guesthouse. When he finally let go of me, he shoved me in the general direction of the front door. "Ask to speak to her—the Chancellor should honor it."

* * *

"Absolutely not," the Chancellor glared.

To say I was disappointed would be a lie. I was utterly destroyed. "Sir, please, this could save your daughter from marriage completely!"

"A moot point," he said. "As I have changed my mind."

"W-what?" I was devastated. If his refusal to see his daughter had destroyed me, this was like being cremated a hundred times until there was not even dust left behind. I was so entrenched in my personal desolation that I was barely listening to everything else he said.

"I have changed my mind; the marriage is to go through," he responded curtly. "I have correspondence from the groom's family, here in my hand," he held up a rough-looking scroll. "They have agreed to the terms. The promised dowry is going to be much less significant than I had hoped, but it is better than I expected."

"How…" I finally found the words, "How can you do this to her?! You promised her she could marry whomever she loves!"

"I am doing my daughter a favor, Master Shifu," he said with a smug grin on his face. I wanted to do an unforgivably violent act to wipe that grin right off. I'm sure my rage in that moment was likely unmatched for a good thirty years or so. I could not think of a more appropriate reason for my righteous fury.

"I need to speak with her."

"I cannot allow that," he said, barring my way. "My daughter is to see no men but her own relatives until the day of her wedding."

"Don't you want to save her from this fate?! I thought you hated the creditor!"

"I do; and what I am doing is saving her from a worse fate. You don't understand now, and I don't expect you to. But a father must do what he must to protect his children, no matter the cost."

"Chancellor, I love your daughter!" I told him again, pleading.

"I know," he answered, meeting my gaze. To my bewilderment, he didn't look away. "I know you love her…and that is why I am doing this. Be sure to inform the other three…_males_ that they are invited to the nuptials. Now, if there is nothing further, I bid you a good evening, Master Shifu."

With that, the door slammed closed, and I heard the unmistakable _clink_ of the lock being drawn, and the heavy _thunk_ of the wooden beam to further bar the door. The symbolism was not lost on me. I had been completely locked out of Yeying's life.

* * *

Ochir had stood by and seen the whole thing. Even he didn't know what to say to help me. He must have decided the best response was silence. I was grateful, because I did not want to speak of it anyway; I lacked faith in my own voice. Instead, I walked past him, past the dormitories, past the training hall, up the well-trodden path to the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom.

Night had fallen, and it was much later than I realized. I slumped down against the ancient trunk, and slid down until I was sitting. I stared, not focused on anything in particular, my mind too preoccupied to take in any of the valley's beauty.

Yeying was getting married to the creditor. There was no way she could love him—she had never even met him. How could her father—her own family—betray her like this? And how could we—her friends—let her down?

I quickly blamed myself. Had I not been so hung up on going through with it, she would be out of danger by now, and we would have been married. Whether or not she loved me didn't bear thinking about because there was no point to wondering any longer. She had probably given her father permission, or at the very least said nothing to stop him. That action, or lack thereof, told me all I needed to know: she did not love me as I loved her.

I finally gave in to my despair and wept. I got no sleep that night, with only the moon and stars and peach tree for company. By morning I could cry no more tears, as much as I wanted to.

Oogway had been right, his vision come true. The wedding would take place…and I was going to lose her forever.

* * *

The news had spread around the entire palace by morning. I ignored my friends, who had gone to train to take their minds off of the devastating news. I retreated to my room, alone in my grief. I remember crying myself to sleep by midday, and repeating the cycle the next day.

It was three days to her wedding by that time, two not including the second day I wasted. I didn't consider it a waste; I couldn't see her anyway, and had I known that before, my last conversation with her would have gone much differently. I would have been a man, confessed everything, told her I loved her, held her in my arms, kissed her…hell, I would have made love with her in that garden if given the opportunity.

But I had faltered. I had wasted my time, and done nothing when I should have been doing something, just like she had waited much too long to avoid this marriage.

Li finally dragged me out of my room and got me to spar with him. Xue Shan and Ochir were sparring together, but there was no impressive energy on either of their parts. She wasn't even married yet and we were already falling apart.

We spent the next two days this way, trying and failing to take our minds off the impending ceremony. On the eve of the wedding, I finally gave in and confronted my master. I needed something, more than pearls of wisdom. Wisdom would do no good. I needed someone to talk to, and he was the only one who would listen.

I found him in his favorite spot under the peach tree, and he took one look at me before the sagely smile abruptly turned into a frown.

"You look as if you have lost someone."

It took no effort on my part for tears to rush back to my eyes. I didn't bother to wipe them away, and my voice refused to work, held hostage by my grief. My master did something he had never done before: he opened his arms to me, welcomed me, and gave me a firm hug.

"It looks bad now, my friend, but you must remember that the night is darkest just before the dawn."

"Dawn will never break," I said. My voice sounded strange to my ears, like it did not belong to me at all. I was used to hearing just a tinge of hope and idealism; this voice sounded dead. "She _was_ my dawn."

"Yeying is not your only reason for living," he said sternly, and I knew what he feared. He saw the looks I was giving to the edge of the precipice.

"No…but she was a big reason."

"I must repeat myself, then," he made me look up at him, and he was more serious than I had ever seen him. "Yeying has gone into this of her own free will; but there is more to this than you can guess."

"What more is there to know? I held a torch for her for so long, held hope that maybe we could have something together…but its my own fault. I waited to long."

He smiled, albeit thinly. If I had not been looking for it, I would have missed it. "No, my friend," he corrected. "You have not waited long enough."

"I'm not going to her wedding," I said with finality. "I don't trust myself to keep it together."

"I do not blame you—but you will regret it forever if you do not at least show up to see her," he suggested.

"What am I supposed to do?!" I finally snapped. I was angry at myself, I was angry at her father, and I was angry at Yeying herself. But most of all, my master was incurring my wrath because while I felt dead inside, he was smiling. "There is no honor in murdering her betrothed just so I can marry her myself! She clearly wants this—so I wouldn't do that to her. I just…" I bit back on a sob. "I just wish I knew what to do…I've never felt so helpless in my entire life."

"One must not give into despair in times like these. My visions only tell me so much; we have all been gifted with free will and the ability to act. Nothing is set in stone. The wedding will go through as planned, as I foretold. And you _will_ lose something you have always had, one way or another."

More tears stared pouring from my eyes, drenching the fur on my cheeks. He stopped smiling just long enough to hug me again. "Go to the bathhouse and clean up—you'll want to look your best tomorrow."

My heart still heavy, I obeyed him. I rolled into bed still damp, but I believe it was my pillow that suffered worse that night.

* * *

At daybreak, it was bright, sunny, and clear; perfect weather for a wedding. I cursed the gods for mocking my pain. I dressed slowly, dragging my feet as I dressed in my red celebration robes, but I felt like doing nothing but confining myself to my room for the rest of my life. I had heard the stories of star-crossed lovers who were separated, of lovers of fair maidens who went mad after their loves were married to other men. Madness seemed like a sweet release, and death was preferable to what I expected to experience.

Further mocking me, the entire palace—and the village—came out to celebrate the occasion. But for Li, Ochir, Xue Shan, and I, it was anything but festive. Right after breakfast, Shan had filched a bottle of wine from a vendor and handed it out amongst the four of us. We sat in the water lily garden, glum, silent, and depressed. None of us felt we could stomach the alcohol, doing little more than swirling it around our cups, watching how the wine left residue on the sides.

After a moment, Ochir cleared his throat and lifted his cup. His voice sounded as disembodied as mine had the night before: "To the bride, may she have a happy marriage and many years to live."

"Cheers," Shan sighed as we clanked our cups together and took a long swig. I had willed myself that morning to keep it together long enough in the day, at least until Yeying and her new husband had retreated to the bridal chamber. That thought alone sickened me. She would have her innocence violated in such a sacrilegious manner, and I would have given anything to help her.

The sound of instruments in the distance, and the loud sounding of a gong told us the groom and his family had arrived. We only looked at each other; I wasn't the only one who wanted to cry.

Ochir heaved with his sigh and stood. "Might as well get this over with."

My legs refused to move, my feet plodded against the ground. I could barely raise my head. I knew this was supposed to be a happy occasion, but I couldn't bring myself to force a smile. We made it to the Arena, where the groom's family would first enter.

Here's how I saw it coming: the groom's sedan chair would arrive first, and his family would mill around it, singing songs of joy and wishes for many sons. Then the groom would emerge and give offerings to Oogway, who was to preside over the ceremony. Then the groom would ascend the platform, and the bride would be carried out in her own chair, decorated in red and festooned with flowers. A red carpet would be laid before her, as her feet were not to touch bare earth until she was safely seated on the marriage bed.

She and the groom would have a red ribbon tied around their wrists, then bow and pray to the groom's ancestors. Then they would be escorted via sedan chair to the bridal chamber—which to my knowledge, had been set up in the guesthouse. When that happened, the couple would sign the marriage license, and the ceremony was over.

The band down below got louder and louder, and a hush fell over the crowd as the groom and his family approached. Oogway caught my eye; he was standing on the platform already, and he sent me a smile and a wink.

Even my own master was mocking me!

I cast my eyes to the ground and clenched them shut as the crowd cheered. The groom had arrived.

But then the crowd started murmuring. I looked up at Li, who looked just as confused as I was. Shan whispered to us, "What's going on? Is the groom that ugly?"

"No," Ochir said, utterly breathless. "…it's Shifu's family."

My head snapped up.

My family was standing in the doorway of the arena.

"What…" I breathed, my eye twitched once, "What are they doing here? Where's the groom? Where's the creepy old guy?"

My friends had pieced it together, and in the hush of the crowd, Li said breathlessly to me, "Shifu…you _are_ the groom."

* * *

I was too young to be having a heart attack, but that's what the shock felt like. The crowd had heard Li's bewildered proclamation, and all eyes turned to look at me. I stared into space, then snapped up to stare at Oogway.

He smiled again, and winked.

He knew. He _had_ known…but how?

My parents were already greeting Yeying's, my mother, and Miao Li utterly ecstatic. They made room for me as I approached my father, as he came closer to greet me. I approached Chancellor Miao, in a daze…and he had that same smug smile from five days before.

"I…I don't understand," I said. "I thought you said the marriage was going to go through?"

"I did. And it is," he smirked. "I just never specified _who_ the groom was."

"But…I thought…"

"Thought what, that I would allow my daughter to marry that fat old cat?" Miao Li sniffed, making no secret her disdain for the other man.

"Absolutely not," her husband agreed "…not when I had a young man who loved her enough to die for her, who loved her enough to brave all odds to keep her safe, who was willing to risk anything for her happiness. You made an impression on me that day, young man. Such an impression, I was motivated to contact your family. Apparently there was this palace goose—Shing, I believe—who had very little work around here…"

"But it takes two weeks to travel from my natal village to the Valley," I breathed, staring at my family in shock. "How did you get here so fast?"

"We were already on our way," my father explained. "Didn't we tell you that I had been summoned to the Imperial City? We were on our way home and thought it would be a nice surprise…this was a bit out of our way, but what father is going to miss his own son's wedding?"

"But Yeying doesn't love me," I said. "I thought she didn't love me?"

"She's right," the Chancellor said, rolling his eyes, "You _are_ rather dense. She told me right after you two argued in the garden. She had been afraid to tell you; and she was fearful I would not give my blessing."

"So," I paused. "So that means…"

He simply smiled at me, shared a look with his wife, then both of them bowed low, asking, "Take good care of our daughter, Master Shifu."

I was still confused, overwhelmed, my head buzzing like an angry hornet's nest. But looking around, at my family, at my soon-to-be parents-in-law…it became clear. Everything became clear.

_The promised dowry is going to be much less significant than I had hoped, but it is better than I expected_

_I am doing my daughter a favor._

_I know you love her; and what I am doing is saving her from a worse fate. You don't understand now, and I don't expect you to. _

Then there was what Oogway had said…

_You have not waited long enough._

_You will regret it forever if you do not at least show up to see her._

_Nothing is set in stone. The wedding will go through as planned, as I foretold. And you _will_ lose something you have always had, one way or another_.

They had planned the whole thing without my knowledge. Judging by the looks on my friend's faces, they had no idea either.

But the simple fact remained: I was getting married, and I was getting married to the woman I loved, and who loved me in return.

"You know, we may not have a sedan chair," my mother reminded me, "But I think this is the point where you wait for your bride at the platform. We took care of everything else."

I took the cue and walked as slowly as I could—for I needed to be reverent at a time like this—to the platform, but I felt, for the first time in days, that I was walking on air. I shared another look with Oogway, whose close-lipped smile expressed more joy than I had ever seen.

The band struck up a tune again, and down the palace steps came the flower-sitting chair, which bore the bride to the makeshift family altar my parents had brought with them. When the heavily-curtained chair was laid on the ground and the red cloth laid on the ground for the bride's use, she emerged from the palanquin.

She was clothed head to toe in red, and I could see the tip of her tail beneath her hem—that and her hands were the only clues that she was Yeying. The thin red veil covering her head obscured everything else. We weren't even allowed to talk during the ceremony, except for the "I do's" and for praying to my ancestors.

I took her hands in mine and led her forward, for she was blinded by the red veil. She gripped my hands; I knew that she knew it was me. I couldn't hold in the grin.

Oogway quietly commanded our attention, and the ceremony began.

* * *

An hour later, we were brought into the bridal chamber, which was profoundly decorated in red and gold. I was in awe of it, but I had more important things to worry about. Our sedan chairs were laid on the ground at the door, and I went to carry my bride—my Yeying—across the threshold. Guests lined the hallways to the bridal chamber, showing the way.

When I had safely let her down on the bed, I sat next to her, and at a nod from Oogway, I lifted the veil.

She blinked rapidly as the light invaded her eyes, but as she got used to the room's brightness, her gaze settled on me. I noted confusion in her beautiful eyes at first, but then she pieced it together, and much quicker than I had. Yeying looked up at me, and smiled, her entire countenance, face, body, and most expressively her eyes, all appeared to take on an aura all their own. I had never seen her look so blissfully happy.

My parents, the Chancellor, and Miao Li stood in the doorway, and Miao Li ceremoniously brought in a scroll, laying it on our laps. The marriage license. Once we had signed it, it would be official. I faltered, if only for a moment, waiting to see what Yeying would do. She looked back at me, smiling shyly, and handed me a brush. We couldn't exchange any words yet, but we didn't need to. My fingers brushed against hers as I took the brush from her; I mirrored her action by handing over her own brush.

Together, as we would be until parted only by death, we dipped our brushes in the red ink provided by her mother, and signed our names.

The crowd cheered outside, and our parents could no longer hide their elation. Miao Li beamed at the two of us, especially her daughter; there were tears in her mother's eyes. "I am so proud of you," the older feline said, bending down to kiss Yeying's forehead. "I told you to always follow your heart," she looked at me approvingly, then stage whispered with a wink, "and your father's right—you got my good taste."

Yeying grinned, nodding encouragingly, while I blushed from the compliment.

Miao Li bowed once more to me, asking me to care for her daughter, and stepped out of the way to allow us our first chance to speak…as husband and wife.

I turned to Yeying—my wife!—and caressed her cheek, still overwhelmed by all that had happened. "I thought…I thought you didn't love me."

She frowned a little, her hands on my shoulders. "How could you think that? I mean, I was pretty subtle, I admit."

"That's an understatement."

"But I've loved you for years. My father…"

"He told me," I smiled. "Can you believe it? I thought you were marrying the old guy…"

She beamed, but the look on her face told me she was just as surprised as I was. "I know, I thought I was too—I didn't know who my groom was until you took my hands in yours."

"So…you're happy with this?" I asked hopefully.

She leaned forward into my arms, purring softly, "This is better than even my wildest dreams…" I wrapped my arms firmly around her, holding her close, not daring to let go lest it all be a blissful dream. As I looked into her sky blue eyes, I knew there was only one way to be sure I wasn't dreaming.

I kissed her.

I didn't care that the entire valley was there, that we had an audience, and I gave no thought to what she and I would eventually do in that very chamber later that night. All that mattered was her.

She hugged me closer, needing this kiss just as much as I did, perhaps more. Something that we had denied ourselves, and each other, for almost two decades, had finally been bestowed upon us, and neither of us was willing to give it away, for anything.

Someone cleared their throat, shocking us out of our kiss. Master Oogway stood in front of us, smiling beatifically, and leaned in to whisper, "What did I tell you?"

"The night is darkest just before the dawn," I smiled at him. "And you were right—the wedding happened after all."

"Correct. I just never specified _who_ was getting married," he winked. Yeying grinned and laughed, hugging her master.

"Thank you," she whispered, "You saved me again."

"I did no such thing—Shifu saved you both times, Yeying. He has always been there, and shall always be there."

"As I promise to always be there for him," she gripped my hand. Turning to me, she directed her next comment at me, "As a comrade, as a friend, as his wife…Shifu, I love you."

There is not a poet living, that has ever, or will ever live, who can aptly describe how those three little words can make a soul feel truly alive, lighter than air…all those terms don't do the feeling justice. The closest analogy I can think of is like a wrongly-imprisoned man stepping forth from prison, leaving the darkness of solitude and chains, and entering the light and freedom and fresh air and the beauty of nature and all her wonders.

"I love you too, Yeying," I said, leaning in for a kiss…

…that was interrupted by Oogway yet again.

I tried to hide my impatience and irritation; rather difficult, as my bride looked just as annoyed.

"There is something you are forgetting, isn't there?" our master asked.

"Um…no, no I think we're good," I said, holding her closer.

She flashed an "Okay" sign at him, "Never better!"

"Ah, but recall, Shifu, the second part of my vision…"

I didn't think my face could heat up that fast, and I was sure from the laughs coming from Li and Ochir that they had figured it out (poor Shan was still in the dark).

_Something I had always had would be lost forever_…that night. Something that _both_ Yeying and I had always had would be lost…and her cheeks turned bright red when she caught the meaning.

Oogway just nodded to acknowledge that, yes, we were correct in our assumption, and stepped out of the way to allow my mother the chance to hand us a book. Then everyone filed out of the room, our friends waving and making crude jokes about what we were about to do (I am not writing them down not because of my own embarrassment, but because most of what they said would never be said in even the most impolite company. Li was taken care of, but Ochir and Shan _desperately_ needed girlfriends).

The last one to leave was our master, who stopped in the doorway, smiling back at us, and lifted his hand to give us one last blessing:

"Many years may you be together, nurturing each other, protecting each other. For just as water gives life essence to wood, and it is wood that calms water; it is the balance of the world, the way of things, that you shall do the same for each other. May your love be a story for the ages, a reminder that good things happen, even when they look bleak. Honor each other, love each other, and always remember the vows you have taken."

He turned to go, then stopped, "Oh! Almost forgot! Shifu…"

"Yes, Master?"

"No pressure."

"No pressure?"

"You know what I mean," he winked, and walked out, closing the door behind him.

As soon as he was gone, Yeying started cracking up, "Your ears are _so_ red right now!"

I clamped my hands down on my ears, as if by doing so would will away the obvious blush. She giggled and kissed my nose. "Come on, it's okay. There's no real reason for us to be so shy with each other now."

I smiled, briefly catching her lips with mine, "You're right…now, what's this book?"

She shrugged, opening the front cover and flipping a couple pages. "I dunno, but your mother looked pretty intent on us—wow."

My jaw dropped.

Oh, it was _that_ kind of book.

Yeying didn't say anything for a moment, but when she looked at me, she was blushing, yet smiling. "So…we're alone."

"Yes…"

"Nervous?"

"A little," I admitted.

"Me too," she replied.

We shared another kiss, one that seemed far more intimate to me than what was to come.

I need not go into detail about what transpired that night, between the two of us. All I can assure is that we followed the correct traditions. Neither one of us truly had a clue what we were doing, even with the book as a guide. In the end, it little mattered, as we fell asleep in each other's arms. Before I drifted off, I watched as Yeying slept, her side gently rising and falling with her breathing.

She was my wife.

How many times had I dreamt, nay, yearned for this? And now here we were, together forever, husband and wife, wife and husband…

Yeying was my wife.

And I, Shifu, was her husband.

Tears came unbidden to my eyes, but I didn't bother wiping them away. I watched her face as she slept, my hand caressing her cheek until I too drifted off.

Dreams did not come to me that night.

Now that I was living a dream, I didn't need them anymore.

* * *

When the scroll was rolled up and placed back into the basket, the four males were alerted to a very foreign sound: the sound of _two_ females sighing wistfully.

"Oh my goodness," Viper said softly, then again, more exuberantly with a overjoyed squeal, "Oh my _goodness_! Shifu and Yeying got married!"

Tigress was grinning, genuinely happy for…well, for the first time since many of them could remember.

Po couldn't take his eyes off of her. Tigress was already a beautiful woman, but when she smiled…there wasn't an adjective strong enough to describe the effect.

"So…" Po started slowly, "Feeling better?"

Tigress wrapped her blanket around her shoulders, a small, sweet smile on her lips as she thought about her master's past happiness. "Yeah," she croaked out.

"Okay, sounds like its time for some more…" Po began.

"NO!" would have been what Tigress _would_ have roared, but for the strangled mewl that came out. She grimaced; laryngitis _sucked_.

"Relax. Just lemon tea with honey…I swear!" he said, handing her a cup. He gave her what the panda hoped was his most sincere expression. He let out an internal sigh of relief when she wordlessly took the cup and began drinking.

Monkey just smiled at her, giving the feline a wink; she blinked in surprise, giving him a questioning glance: 'what?'

The simian just rolled his eyes. He may have been the most playful of the five, but that didn't make him unfocused. Like Mantis, he wasn't stupid.

What amazed him—and it probably amazed everyone else who noticed—was that the panda and the tiger seemed to have _no _idea_.

* * *

_

Thought I should leave off on a happy note for a happy occasion. Happy Hanuchristmakwanzakaa! Or whatever it is you celebrate!

Please leave a review, and I'll see you in the new year!


	14. Chapter 14

I wanted to make a quick note of something I touched on earlier in Chapter 12: Nu Shu, which literally means "women's writing", was created hundreds—perhaps thousands, researchers aren't sure—of years ago in the Hunan Province in South/Southeastern China. http:// www,crystalinks,com / nushu,html this is an excellent online source for more information. My mentioning nu shu as a form of writing exclusively for women was a nod at Lisa See's best-selling novel "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan", which has helped inspire me in writing parts of this fic. Lisa See has done so much research for her work, it inspires me to do the same for my own. Plus, the idea of there being a language out there that only women know really interested me, and impressed me. Moreover, because men thought women were so inferior, they didn't bother to acknowledge it; nowadays, they're scrambling to learn it. Got to love irony, right?

Please be kind, this one was written in a rush.

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

* * *

Chapter 14

* * *

Viper wasn't sure how she should feel.

Of Shifu and Yeying's wedding, she was ecstatic! Her notions of romance—however droll or trivial Tigress believed them to be—were stoked when Viper listened to the narrative, imagining the glory of such a wedding day. Her master—their master—had known such happiness!

Then reality hit her like a punch to the gut.

What had happened to Yeying?

No, she knew how she felt about _that_.

What she wasn't so sure about were her feelings for a certain comrade.

Po may not have been as…physically attractive…as the others. Viper admitted to being impressed by Tai Lung's physique after twenty years of incarceration, which was by no means a small feat! She admired Crane for his quiet dignity and gentle nature, Monkey for his fun-loving and at times goofball personality, and in Mantis she appreciated his dedication to his art…not to mention his one-liners were totally killer.

But Po…she couldn't describe it. She didn't want to believe he was the Dragon Warrior at first, but heaven help her, she had started to like him, and only after two days.

"He's not going to quit, is he?" she'd asked, in awe of his staying power, even as he bounced off the stairs of the Jade Mountain. Even Tigress knew when to quit, when to take a breather, when to stop. Tigress drew the line; Po didn't, so deep was his fanaticism.

And there was something endearing about that.

This was only helped along by the acupuncture session with Mantis in the panda's room later that night. Viper could barely hold back the laughs and smiles, but it wasn't for the guilt of _schadenfreude_ on the panda's behalf that she withheld. Po was unlike any male she had ever met. He was a perfect sweetheart, without trying to be. And if she let on how much she admired him, well, her friends would never let her live it down.

She hated that she was still so vain and cared so much about their opinions that she hadn't acted sooner. Because, if her ruminations were correct, she had already missed her chance.

Not that Tigress was dropping any hints, mind you. That next morning, Viper helped her find the thick bathrobe given as a gift at last New Year's. As the tiger got bundled up, she revealed that she had quite miraculously been healed. Her voice was still a little scratchy, and there was still a slight fever, but other than that, she was perfectly healthy.

Po looked just pleased to hear that. He still made medicinal soup, just in case; poor Tigress nearly turned an unhealthy shade a green, but silently conceded to the "torture" of Po's wondrous cooking.

They decided to keep her in bed that day, so all six filed into her room, bringing cushions to sit on and the brazier to keep warm as Monkey picked up the next scroll and began to read.

* * *

The third day of our marriage came up unexpectedly. As was tradition, we prepared to make the trip to the bride's home. In some provinces, this was something only the bride did; she didn't stay with her husband the whole time until after their first child. Considering I could not give her children of her own, Yeying could be free to visit her natal home whenever she desired…which turned out to be very infrequently.

Though it wasn't customary, we thought a visit to my family's home in the Southern Zhou-tong village would also be a good plan. Yeying had already seen the land of my ancestors, but I had yet to see her home. As I understood it, it was only a day and from the Valley of Peace, possibly less considering how swiftly we traveled. We would spend about a week there, we surmised, then continue on to my home, and spend, oh, perhaps a month, considering the distance.

Thankfully, we wouldn't be alone.

Ochir, Shan, and Li decided to accompany us, at least part-way. While they respected Yeying's parents, they had very little love for them. Aside from that, they added that it was more my business rather than theirs to get to know my in-laws a little more.

"They ain't _my_ in-laws," Ochir had snorted over breakfast on the second day of my marriage.

Instead, the three of them would meet up with us at Zhou-tong. Shan admitted to missing Mount Tai Lung and the common bond he had with the snow leopard clan there. Ochir missed the peacefulness of the valley. Li was anxious for an adventure.

All three missed my mother's cooking.

I hardly blamed them.

So it was, the eve we were to leave, Yeying and I packed light, having been assured that everything we could possibly need would be given at her family's expense. All we needed were a few changes of clothes, some food for the journey, and, of course, a two-person tent.

The day before we left, my wife and I took advantage of our last likely chance to train with our friends for a good two weeks. She had started sparring with Ochir, while Shan was sitting in meditation with Master Oogway. I was back to sparring with my favorite partner.

"Going to visit the in-laws, huh?" Li asked. "Honestly, I'd wait a couple days…"

I blocked a punch he sent towards me, "I thought of that too, but its tradition, and you know how Yeying's father is, and how _my_ parents are…"

He rolled his eyes, sweeping his leg out and catching mine. I flipped back, landing on my toes and dropping into a low stance. "Don't remind me," he sighed, striking again. I blocked and kicked, he grabbed my ankle and yanked hard. I brought my fist in and punched his stomach. He let go and we paused long enough to allow him the chance to catch his breath.

"Nice shot," he gasped.

"You alright?"

"Better than ever," he readied himself for the next blow. "So how long are you staying at Mama and Baba Miao's?"

"A couple days, I think, no more than a week," I said. "Yeying wants to connect with some old friends, and truth is, I'd like to see where she came from."

"You know her family's rich, right?"

"Don't remind me. Its bad enough I don't think I'm worthy of her; I don't need the entire county thinking the same thing."

"Fuck 'em," he said, snapping his arm out, blocking my own punch and ducking my swinging kick to his head. "You love her, she loves you, that's more than most Chinese can ask for. How many arranged marriages end in love? If anyone says anything about you, just remember this: they're jealous."

"You think?"

"Shifu, most people think love is a myth, something that only happens in fairy tales. What you and Yeying have is _real_…and people won't be able to handle that."

"Li, it's the same thing you and Ren have," I pointed out.

"Yeah, but he and I have to hide it."

I stopped, realizing he was right. While in our own province, thoughts of homosexuality were a little more liberal than in other areas of the empire, one still had to tread carefully; one never knew who was understanding, and who was intolerant. Not everyone was as understanding as our master. And Ren had his reputation in the military to think about. In all likelihood, he may just have to marry someone just to keep up appearances…and I saw that this was Li's fear too.

"You know that if…"

"If what, if he marries a girl to cover it up? Shifu, that's not what bothers me. Ren's told me he won't."

"Then why do you look so sad?" I asked, pausing our scrimmage.

"Because I know that if he doesn't, his men will suspect. It hurts to think he _has_ to do it, but I'd rather he marry some girl and live, than be killed."

"Li…"

He shook his head, and offered a smile, covering up his own fears to give me a hopeful look. "But you and Yeying have a clear, certain future. You're going to live many years, heaven willing, and teach many children—who knows, maybe you'll adopt some! Who needs to have biological children? You can raise orphans; gods know there's too many of them in Bao Gu."

"Gods, Li, please don't talk children to me. I just got married two days ago!"

"I'm not saying you should adopt _now_, it's just something to think about," he shrugged. After a pause, he added, "It's something I've thought of doing, sometimes."

I gave him a look. I had no idea.

"I thought you didn't like kids?" I asked.

"I said I liked men more than I liked kids. But being a teacher, I thought that'd be enough for me, you know? But with Ren…I can't explain it, I really can't, but he brings out something in me," he smiled fondly, clearly remembering the times—however brief—he had with his lover. Then he shook himself out of it. "I don't know, we'll see. Now," he dropped into a fighting stance. "Let's say one more round?"

* * *

The next morning, Yeying and I were roused from slumber by the cat-calling and wolf-whistling of our three friends. I'm sure I don't need to mention the reason behind our deep slumber; what did you think newlyweds did during the night?

Yeying had laid her head on my shoulder, throwing the pillow over her ears, "I wanna kill 'em," she muttered.

I sighed through my nose. "When this is over…"

"We're getting them girlfriends," she completed my sentence. "Shan and Ochir need 'em…"

"And tracking down Ren might be a good idea too."

"Agreed, Li needs to get laid."

"Does it bother you that we're so freely talking about our friends' sex lives…or lack thereof?" I asked.

"Considering what we did last night, should it surprise either of us?" she smirked, nuzzling me and giggling as I blushed. "Oh come on, there's no reason to be shy about it."

"Give me a break, I've only had three days of experience."

"Three days and three nights," she reminded me. I gasped when her lips touched the side of my neck.

"W-we can't," I remember saying. "They're already waiting for us."

"They can wait longer," she purred.

"What about your family, the trip we need to make today?" I gasped as her hands began to move around…

"Still want to wait?" she asked.

* * *

"Took you long enough," Shan groused. "We were going to leave without you."

"I think they had a legitimate reason," Li snickered. I didn't know why until Yeying licked her palm to smooth some fur on the top of my head. We probably looked quite disheveled…but clearly satisfied.

"Did you remember your ear plugs, Shan?" Yeying asked him.

He rolled his sightless eyes, "Am I _ever_ going to get _one night_ when I _don't_ have to use them?"

"Probably not."

"Swell."

As we set out to leave, I heard someone calling out my name. Behind us, at the student housing, stood my three best students, Hu, Jin and Tao. They had risen just to see me off, the trio waving and wishing a good journey.

"That's awfully sweet of them," Yeying said, returning the wave.

"Ain't surprising," Ochir said, "the kids love Shifu—not sure why."

"He looks like a stuffed animal," Shan snickered. "I'd wager that'd be a hit with any kid."

"When this is over, we're getting you a girlfriend," I warned. "So someone can make fun of _you_ for a change."

Ochir interrupted my rant when he tapped me on the shoulder, "By the way, one of them sent these travel bars for you and Yeying. The piglet, I think. What's his name?"

"Who, my student?"

"Yeah, him…what's that kid's name?"

"Hu," I answered.

Ochir gave me a funny look, "That kid, over there."

I looked to the piglet who was still waving with his friends and repeated, "Hu."

"The pig you teach."

"Hu."

"The piglet that is your student," he gritted, sounding a bit irritated.

"Hu."

"The pig in yellow in that corner over there!"

"Hu!"

"Shifu, what is the _name_ of that _pig_ in _yellow_ playing with those other two kids?!"

"HU!"

"That's what I want to know!" he yelled, exasperated.

Shan patted Ochir on the arm, "No, man, 'Hu' is the kid's name."

"It's a stupid name," the rhino muttered.

"I dunno," Li smirked, breaking up the tension, "I have a feeling they'll be telling that joke for a while…"

* * *

As planned, we made it to the crossroads on the other side of the Thread of Hope, my wife and I going North, our friends West, to meet up with them again in two week's time. The weather was clear, and the air crisp with the coming autumn weather. Despite how tired we were, we made excellent time, coming upon the gates of her home village by nightfall.

We made it inside with the farmers and laborers who lived within their walls and continued on our way, pausing to ask directions to the Miao family home from a friendly-looking dog.

"You must not be from around here," he told us, "Everyone knows where the Miaos live!"

And with good reason. I could hardly believe we were at the right address when Song led me to the gates of a large family villa. The walls were pristine with fresh plaster and whitewash, the terracotta tiles a brilliant scarlet, and the heavy oak double-doors to the compound painted a deep pine green. This was far from being a fortress—it was a palace, in every sense of the word. Semi-precious stones were inlaid on the door, depicting a garden scene meant to show the outside what life was like on the inside.

"This is new," Yeying said, her fingers ghosting over the stones. "This must've happened after my father's promotion. I wonder what else changed."

"It wasn't always like this?" I asked, completely mystified—and feeling slightly inadequate—by the obvious show of wealth around me. A servant opened the door, recognized Yeying instantly, and hastily invited "Little Miss" inside…with her husband, of course.

The courtyard was…well, it was my first look inside the home of a truly well-off family, so its image is still engrained in my mind. Now, I had seen finery in the Jade Palace, but much of its beauty was found in the natural landscape, and anything of real worth existed in the artifacts in the Hall of Warriors, and in the history of the palace itself. In the Miao home, everything was new. The roof was new, the porches, lattice windows, screens and even the courtyard looked newly paved. At our feet was an impressive _mosaic_, Yeying called it, a piece of exquisite artwork that was made of small stones put close together to make an image; in this case, it was a river delta, with small blue stones representing a mighty river that started at the door and snaked its way across the courtyard, branching out to the many buildings of the complex. Through an open doorway, I saw exquisite gardens of rock, trees, and lily ponds, the leaves just starting to turn to its autumn colors.

The doors of the main building flew open, and Chancellor Miao and Miao Li walked out into the waning light, arms opened wide.

"There they are!" the Chancellor said, welcoming his daughter into his embrace. When he embraced me, there was still a slight awkwardness, but I wager it had more to do with the fact _I _was the reason for Yeying's, ahem, _adulthood_, if you catch my drift. "Welcome home, both of you. You must be tired from your journey."

"Not really," Yeying said, hugging her mother, "It wasn't so far as you might think. Traveling to Shifu's home will take much more time."

"And I have confidence both of you will be properly cared for there," Miao Li said warmly. "I remember your parents from the wedding feast, Shifu. They are good people; they are very lucky to have a son like you."

"I really wish you wouldn't," I said, visibly embarrassed.

"Oh, but I _must_ brag!"

"She's been bragging to all her friends for the past three days," the Chancellor said as an aside. "Trust me, they may not know your face—yet—but once you show it outside these walls, everyone in the village will know who you are."

"Is that a…good thing?"

"It can be, depending on the person. But come, we were just about to sit for dinner, and I'm sure you would like to meet your brothers-in-law."

"You can stay in Yeying's old room," my mother-in-law explained. "It has since been made into a guest room, but very little has changed."

"Gods, I hope not!" Yeying winced. "Please tell me you at least painted the walls!"

"And updated the bed. Your nieces and nephews sleep across the hall, and they are eager to meet the both of you."

As for my other in-laws, Miao Li was silent on the matter. Which immediately drew upon my suspicion that perhaps my marriage was anything but welcome in this village.

* * *

Sure enough, I was right. Yeying's two older brothers were cordial, civil, but not friendly. Not very surprising, as we were unfamiliar with each other. Their wives were quiet creatures, lovely, but little more than porcelain dolls. Judging by their shared looks with their husbands, the knowledge that Yeying—a cat—had married me—a red panda—was shocking and scandalous. I'm amazed Yeying's brothers were anything but enraged at such sacrilege to the institution of marriage, for surely, the purpose of any marriage was to have sons, and lots of them. Because my spouse and I were of different species—completely different—we could not have sons, or any children for that matter.

This led me to believe that while Yeying escaped the Ax of Arranged Matrimony, her two brothers were not so lucky. But they had no right to complain: how many families had the honor of a kung fu master being related to them?

The oldest son—he was about thirty or so—took this opportunity to show he was the more respectful of the two, an action I found completely fabricated. There was no way he could be happy about this. "We humbly welcome you to our home. Like our honored father, we are happy to have you here, Master Shifu, and happy to welcome you into our family."

I wasn't buying it, but I was a guest, so I showed my gratitude for their hospitality. Not that they had a choice, with their father still being alive. I think Yeying and I both agreed that once Chancellor Miao passed on, the two of us would be banished from that household for good. Served the both of us fine; apparently Yeying had little love for her overly traditional brothers. So traditional, they made my family look progressive. Their wives were an excellent example, with their bound feet and speaking only when spoken to, though their husbands largely ignored them.

I met the rest of the family at dinner, and Yeying had the opportunity to meet her nieces and nephews. They were numerous, ten children in all, six from the elder brother and four from the younger; the elder brother was smug with his five sons and single daughter, while the younger was more reserved with three daughters and one son…which he clearly blamed on his wife. The daughters received very little affection, that was blatantly clear, and unfortunately, the eldest girls were already going through the excruciating process of foot-binding. Glancing at my wife, she looked just as outraged as I felt. Miao Li, from my understanding, was just as furious about the practice happening in her own house. But, it was her husband's doing; he swore it was for the girls' own good, that no respectable husband would want "ugly big-footed girls". As much as I hate to admit it, he was right. Life would have been harder for them had the foot-binding never occurred.

The middle child of the younger brother's family was pale from the agony in her feet, and was nearly on the verge of tears. Yeying and I shared another look, and we had the same thought: if and when we ever adopted a daughter, that would _never_ be her fate.

After dinner we all retired for the evening. The majority of the Miaos retreated to a salon—some sort of room like a study, or a lounge area, I had never heard of it—while the children were sent to bed, the women to their own chamber to sew and weave. Yeying and I on the other hand retired to our room, eager to get away.

"May I smack my brothers?" my wife growled, brushing out her fur in front of an antique mirror in her old room, "I really want to smack them."

I was undressing, taking in the décor, which was lovely, I had to admit. Murals of sky scenes were painted on the walls, with various birds and phoenixes and dragons in flight, weaving through cotton-ball clouds. The bed had clearly been updated—a "queen" bed, I think they're called—but aside from that, she told me, little had changed since she was a girl.

"I don't think it's their fault," I assured her. "Think of the influences they have."

"My father isn't to blame."

"Not entirely. Remember, though, my father didn't have much influence on me. They probably learned these habits from other men here."

"Or at court," she rolled her eyes, wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. She stoked up the coals in the brazier by the bed and crawled under the covers with me. "I feel bad for their wives."

"Me too."

"And those poor girls…seeing that youngest one like that broke my heart," she sighed, resting her head on my shoulder.

"That would never happen to our daughter," I vowed, wrapping my arms around her. "That is…if you were thinking about it. You know, maybe adopting, someday."

She smiled in the dim light. "I think I'd like that. We'd train her in kung fu…"

"Oh, undoubtedly," I smiled, glad she was warming up to the idea. "But what style?"

"Why not every style?"

"Have her master the thousand scrolls of kung fu?"

"Why not? Think about it: its one thing for a man to be the first ever to master the thousand scrolls of kung fu…but a _woman_ to do it instead? Can you imagine what that would say about Chinese women in general?"

I wasn't using my imagination as much as I should have, I admit. But she had a point. For a woman to do something a man had never accomplished before, that would tell the world that Chinese women were _not_ simple creatures by any means, and could do anything just as well as men could. Though men, despite all their self-righteousness and arrogance, could not provide much-desired sons on their own, and I had no problem reminding misogynistic pricks of this, and still don't.

"But wouldn't you like a son?" she asked suddenly.

"What?"

"A son. You know, a boy child you raise? Wouldn't you like that?"

"Yeying," I looked into her eyes. "I don't care what we have, who we adopt, or how many…as long as they are happy, healthy, and have you for a mother, I couldn't ask for anything more."

This made her very happy, and in fact, she was so happy she proceeded to show her appreciation physically…which truthfully, I hoped would become habit.

* * *

Hours later, I was still awake, lying on my back while my wife lay at my side, sleeping soundly, snoring softly. I thought it was adorable. Try as I might, sleep eluded me, so after anxiously tossing and turning, I gave up and decided to get some fresh air. Perhaps a short tour of the Miao family villa would tire me out enough to get me to sleep.

Unfortunately, it was such a large compound, I easily lost my way. The paths snaked through the gardens, some leading nowhere, others wove around in circles. The halls were no better. I felt I needed a compass to find my way. Why on earth anyone needed such a large space, I'd never know.

Ready to give up on my exhaustive search back to Yeying's room, I instead came upon the family sanctuary. Portraits and tablets with the likenesses and names of Yeying's ancestors hung over an altar, where a lone figure knelt in worship.

Miao Li straightened up and looked back at me, then gave me a smile. "What a coincidence, I was just thanking them for bringing you into my daughter's life."

"I would think they'd be disappointed. I can't give your daughter any children—or you grandchildren," I said, stepping closer.

"Bah, I have enough grandchildren. Perhaps, I may send a couple over to the Jade Palace. I wish for that youngest girl may never know the pain of foot-binding. Hearing the other girls' screeches and tears at night…I wonder where I went wrong, why my sons insist. But perhaps it is my fault; I let their education be _too_ traditional."

"Whatever decisions they made were their own," I said.

"But I am their mother," she reminded me, "and I am responsible for their morals."

"Morals, yes. Opinions, not so much. I don't agree with my mother on a lot of things; but I feel you're right. Is it too late to save those girls?"

"Unfortunately," she said with a dejected sigh. "But I am glad my own girl was spared that. And that she found someone who treats her well. Do you know," she laughed softly, "When I first saw you two together at the tournament, many years ago, I saw just how you treated her, and I had a feeling you loved her."

"And I do, and I always will," I assured her.

"I know, I know," she smiled sadly. "At the time, it worried me. The more she wrote to me about you, the more I saw it in her too. I thought…well, it's silly to think I was worried…"

"Worried that we would engage in…?"

"Worried you two would turn out just like Jian Qiang and I, yes. Yes, I knew you were there; my daughter confessed in one of her letters. I am not angry, but I am embarrassed; I never intended children to know, er, my 'dirty laundry' as it were."

"Did you love him?"

"I'd be a damned liar if I denied that," she confessed, bidding me to sit on chairs facing the Miao ancestors. I felt odd sitting there with her, hearing her side of the story, but I also felt the eyes of the stern-looking portraits peering down at me as if I were on trial for something.

"I loved Jian Qiang, it's true," she began. "I loved him so much, it's impossible to deny it. It started, oh, I don't think I can place a single event to it. We were young, of course, younger than you two. I know there is that saying, 'its better to have loved and lost than never love at all', but the pain of losing that love is eternal and never heals. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't still feel his kiss, his embrace, and actually yearn for it.

"I love my husband, Shifu, don't get me wrong, but the passion in my marriage simply can't compare with the passion I felt with Qiang. Could he have given me children, I would have jumped at the chance to marry him instead."

"So children were the deal breaker?" I asked.

"What woman wants to deny herself that joy? I knew since I was a little girl I wanted to marry and have children—as many as possible—and it had been something I had always seen in my future. If Qiang were my future…well, those dreams would never have been reached, and I knew I'd regret it forever."

"I hate to admit it, but I'm glad you married your husband," I confessed. "If not for that, I wouldn't be married to the most wonderful woman."

"Is she?" she asked coyly.

"Easily."

"Good, that's the way it should be. Speaking of…did your parents not tell you how we pulled it all together so quickly?"

I had been curious about that. Most marriages take months, if not years to arrange, and elaborate ceremonies were tough to do on such short notice.

"I remember your parents from the tournament; your mother is the most agreeable creature! Imagine my glee when I found them staying at an inn here in the village, on their way home. I invited them to stay here to rest, and the day they arrived, so did a letter from my husband. He told me everything, about your love, Yeying's predicament, and my husband's scheme. I had my fears it wouldn't work, but your mother and father were most helpful…"

She pointed to an unrolled scroll on the altar beneath portraits of her parents-in-law. It had been laid there with other offerings for the ancestors' spirits. "Look there, tell me what you see."

I obeyed, leaning over the scroll, squinting my eyes to read in the low light of the candles and burning incense. I gaped when I realized what they were…

"Your Eight Characters were perfectly matched," Miao Li explained. "A match literally made in heaven. Not even _my_ marriage's Eight Characters matched so well! Our local matchmaker hadn't seen such a match in well over twenty years; she even told me 'if those two aren't married immediately, I'll eat my left foot!' Well, she didn't have to; I would have held her to it," she smirked wickedly. Now I knew where Yeying got it.

"So," I began slowly, "we were meant to be?"

"What do you think?" she smiled. "The diviner in the village took one look at the match and instantly said you would be happy together for many years to come."

Now, I have never been a superstitious person, so fortune tellers and the like always appeared as charlatans and cheats to me. At that moment, I had the feeling that there was nothing that could tear us asunder, and that Yeying and I would be happy for the rest of our lives. One thing still bothered me, and I brought it up,

"Before the Battle of Red Claw Ridge," I told her, "I spoke with Master Qiang. He told me about you two, about his regrets."

"Did he?" she asked, her tone even.

"He told me it was foolish to give one's heart away, that if I wanted to save myself, that I should never love someone."

She snorted, "Of course, it sounds like something he'd say. He has always been like that, even as children. He was stubborn to a fault, determined that his point of view was the only point of view, and once something happened to disprove his theories, it became something he hated. He used to be a hopeless romantic. I suppose a broken heart tore that right out of him."

"What about his marriage? He never talked of it."

Miao Li sighed, shaking her head. "I know its bad to speak ill of the dead, but his wife, Peony, well, not the best choice for him. She was rather intolerant, came from a wealthy family; when she saw she had 'married beneath her', she threw a fit, demanding her family to dissolve the marriage. Then something happened and she changed her mind. I have no clue what changed; perhaps she fell in love with him after all. He could be as obstinate as she could, and perhaps it was that fire in her soul that drew him closer. Either way, not long after I was married, he got married to her, and not long after I became pregnant with my first son, I heard Peony was also expecting."

That couldn't be right. Ren was only a year older than I, and Yeying's brother was easily seven years older…

"I gave birth to a healthy son," she continued. "And she birthed a stillborn daughter."

Ah, that explained it.

"Qiang was inconsolable; he lost the respect of many men, who wondered why he mourned the loss of a daughter. You know as well as I do what they say: raising and marrying out a daughter is like throwing out a cup of water. Women are commodities, and most still believe that. But in my heart, I think perhaps he wished for a daughter. As I understand it, his wife was relieved—she avoided the shame of raising a worthless daughter, and the ridicule of her family. I heard very little for years, during which time I had another son. Then I heard news that Peony had finally given him a healthy boy.

"Not long after, Peony was killed in a raid. Qiang was fighting the Huns, but a rogue band made it to their village, and she…well, I'll spare you the details. Ren was saved by a neighbor, hidden away. He was but a toddler at the time, and probably barely remembers her. After that happened, I stopped hearing news about Jian Qiang. A part of me didn't want to. Another part of me wished to be there for him. Apparently Terbish was there, helping him through the grief. Red Claw was there, of course. Any rumors coming from the front…they broke my heart, sometimes. I didn't want to think of them being true, but in some, they say he exacted his revenge on Mongol families…"

"You're kidding," I said, horrified.

"I've known Qiang most of my life; for my own sake, I didn't give those rumors much merit. But a wife and children, and losing a wife can change a man more drastically than anyone can say."

"Did your husband change?"

She laughed softly. "More than you know. Let me tell you something about marriage, Shifu: it is not happily ever after. You will face challenges daily, you will go to bed mad and wake up even madder, you will fight and bicker, but in the end, you do this because you made a promise, for better or for worse, to be there for the one you love. You will lie in bed at night and ask yourself 'is this it, forever?' and sometimes you will wonder why you ever got married in the first place. No one tells you these things, especially that once you think you know your spouse, a little part of them changes, and you have to relearn it. I suppose you can liken courtship to primary school, and marriage as graduate studies. You just keep learning more."

For a newlywed to hear this, it was rather discouraging, I admit. No one wants to think about the hard times when the good times were just beginning.

Miao Li stood up, bowed to the ancestors one last time then started to walk out. "I'll get you back to your room—I'm guessing you got lost?"

"Um, yeah, actually…" I blushed with embarrassment.

She chuckled, "Don't worry about it. It took me months to get used to this place. If you would do me a favor tomorrow…"

"Yes, ma'am?"

She gave me a wicked smile, the very one my Yeying had inherited. "My daughter's would-be suitor will be coming around tomorrow to demand her as his bride. He doesn't believe that she's married; I think hearing she married a red panda makes him believe it's a fanciful tale. If you would be a dear and, ah, 'take out the trash', that would be lovely."

I smirked. "Asking _me_ to take care of Old Creepy Gross Guy? I don't think you're giving your daughter enough credit."

* * *

Sure enough, Miao Li's prediction of the creditor came true. We were sitting at breakfast in the main dining hall when a servant announced to Chancellor Miao that the creditor had come to "collect his payment". The Chancellor and I just exchanged a look, as if to say "Do you want to handle it, or shall I?" I was all for teaching the brute a lesson, though judging by the look of righteous fury on my wife's lovely face, I gave my excuse,

"Oh, but I simply _couldn't_! It would be rude to engage in such barbaric activities in the home of my most esteemed host, and besides that, Chancellor, how could I disrespect an elder?"

The Chancellor snorted, chuckling a bit. I winked at my wife, who took the message. She downed the rest of her tea and excused herself from the table. As soon as she left the room, the Chancellor also stood. I followed him out, both of us finding it rather difficult to hide the smirks on our faces.

"So what do you think she'll do?" he asked me.

"Probably headlock to begin, though she may go straight for the jugular, so to speak, and give him a half-nelson, uppercut, scissor kick, then finish him off with a roundhouse," I surmised.

"Really? I would think she'd start by breaking his kneecaps then hitting him with a…oh bother, what is it called?"

"Nerve attack?"

"Yes, that."

"Willing to bet money on that?"

"Five _yuan_ on the bastard going down in five minutes," he waged, pulling out five coins from the purse tied around his belt.

"Ten _yuan_ for less than five," I bartered.

Miao Li came out a second later, "Betting on how long, and what method?"

"I'm afraid you know me too well, my dear," her husband sighed.

"Twenty on her using the _pudao_, down in less than three minutes," her mother bet.

"You're on."

* * *

Out in the main courtyard, I got my first glimpse of the creditor…and I gaped at the Chancellor.

"You have _got_ to be kidding."

"I wish I was," he sighed.

This fat cat—literally—was by far the ugliest creature I had ever seen. Now, I have seen my fair share of ugly mugs; and I do not immediately judge rotund people so cruelly—most I've known have very pristine hygiene, and are genuinely pleasant folk. This creature was an overly fluffy tabby cat, with greasy fur and unfocused eyes set too close together, probably the result of some inbreeding on his family's part, too many generations of first cousins marrying. He was clearly a half-wit, and that is an insult to half-wits everywhere. His manners were atrocious, scratching himself in public, belching loudly, and worse, kicking around servants that were not his to abuse in the first place. Why neither the Chancellor nor his wife bothered to stop him was beyond me.

Until I saw Yeying standing in front of the old cat.

She was wielding a _pudao_.

I sighed, starting to dig for twenty yuan.

The creditor narrowed his cross-eyed jaundiced pupils at her…at least I _think_ he was looking at her…and snapped, "Why are you not wearing your wedding dress? Where are the musicians, the guests? You _dare_ not be ready on the day of your wedding?"

"I _was_ ready—you're too late," Yeying smirked. "I'm already married."

"Lies! The rumors say you're married to a red panda—a red panda! That is by no means legitimate! Your worthless father promised you to me when you were an infant—I have come to claim my prize."

"He promised me in substitute of other forms of payment. He has paid his dept to you twice over, and you have no rights over me," she snapped back. "And if you have the _gall_ to come to my family's home and demand me as your _whore_…well, my father's not the one you should worry about."

"Hardly!" he laughed. "Your 'illustrious' father does not frighten me, and neither does your ugly big-footed mother!"

I heard the Chancellor whispering to his wife as he held her back, "No, no, dear, this is our daughter's chance…"

"I hope she filets him, the mother fu—"

"Please, love, try using more lady-like vulgarity?"

"I'll show _you_ vulgarity…" she muttered.

Meanwhile, Yeying was circling the old fat cat like a hawk, staring him down. Much to my glee, he actually started to look nervous.

"So let me get this straight," Yeying said, "You think that I, a kung fu master, am just going to give up my life and career to just lay about your bedroom for the rest of your life? You think, that after the success in kung fu, that I'm just going to keel over and let you make me your _whore_?"

"I had a feeling you wouldn't make this easy. That is why _they_ are here…" he thumbed over his shoulder. Now I cried foul; he had brought hired goons, a half-dozen gorillas, to force her to comply. If the Miaos were not incensed already, they were utterly furious now. It took all my strength to hold them back.

It took even more strength to keep _myself_ in check. This was my wife's time to shine. She didn't want me fighting her battles for her. This was something she needed to do herself.

I couldn't see her face to see how she felt about this most recent development. When she looked over her shoulder, her eyes locked with mine. Then she smirked.

I returned the smirk, mouthing "K.O." She winked.

She stood straight and tall, the _pudao_ pointing straight to the sky by her side. One hand was raised in front of her as in prayer, and she glared at the gorillas, and sent an especially dirty look to her would-be suitor.

"You want me? Come and claim me."

The cat just snapped his fingers and the gorillas jumped into action.

The first one that got within three feet of her received a powerful snap kick to the face. Yeying swept his feet out from under him, tripping him with the blunt end of her weapon. Twirling like a dancer, she slashed the blade across his chest, smacking him with an open palm and breaking his sternum with an audible snap. The next contestant had to back up as she performed one, two, three, four, five axle turns, bringing her back leg forward with a powerful roundhouse to the creature's side, the blade of the _pudao_ slicing downward across his face.

The third and fourth gorillas both had sabers, two in each hand. She blocked each strike and swipe with the pole, the blade smacking away one, then two sabers. Her weapon sang as it sliced through the air, snapping smartly when she abruptly stopped. She jumped straight up into the air, legs tucked under her, then snapped both out in a perfect side split, concurrently hitting both gorillas in the face. Knowing this wouldn't deter them, she landed in a low crouch and twirled the pudao in a circle twice, then let go for a second, reaching both arms out to grab the gorillas' belts and yanking hard. The material had been sliced through with a clean swipe, and she swiftly tied the cloths to both ends of the _pudao_, swinging and twirling the weapon around in surprisingly fluid and intricate arcs.

The two gorillas had to back away, barely holding up their trousers, but they were hypnotized by the black fabric flowing in the air, and completely missed the opportunity to block when she swung down and hit one hard, keenly slicing through his tunic, then jabbing up with the blunt end, nearly breaking the skin under his chin. The second one suffered much the same treatment, except for the extra kick she gave him—literally—which sent him flying into the outer wall, smashing the plaster.

The fifth gorilla moved up, raising his fists and roaring. Yeying just hissed and bared her teeth and charged, jabbing out. The gorilla was able to duck, but not when she swung her leg out to trip him. He saw this and jumped to avoid it, but she had counted on that. Using the pole to hoist herself up, she gave him such a hook kick that it sent him backward, slamming into the sixth gorilla. Both fell in a heap on the courtyard's floor.

But Yeying was furious by now, and even if I wanted to break it up…well, Mama raised no fool. I wouldn't get in between her and _any_ enemy for an emperor's ransom.

Yeying didn't even wait for the gorillas to get back up to attack again. By now her fury was enough to frighten me, to the point of questioning why I married such a terrifying creature in the first place.

She delivered her coup de grâce, lunging into a split and grabbing one gorilla by the ankle and hoisting him up into the air. She smacked the pole into him so many times, I doubted he'd be able to count all the bruises. She repeated this with the second gorilla, then smashed their heads together, the sharp _crack_ echoing off the walls.

She let out a ferocious battle cry, sweeping the third and fourth off the ground and kicking each so hard they went _right through_ the wall, leaving a sizeable hole. Villagers that had heard the commotion were out on the other side, watching in awe as Yeying delivered the final blows to the last two.

The fifth was stupid enough to attack her again. She ensured he would never walk again. When she glared at the sixth, his knees buckled, and with a rather effeminate scream ran off through the hole in the wall.

Yeying turned sharply, brandishing her weapon and pointing it at the fat cat, who had paled considerably. I could sense the hellish fury emanating off of her—even one not gifted with such sight, I knew her aura had to be red as blood, fitting, as she was out for it.

As the fat cat of a creditor quivered in his robes, Yeying hissed so ferociously, I felt chills going down my spine.

"Get out," she grilled between gritted teeth.

Not a second later, the creditor ran as fast as his legs would carry him, out the hole in the wall—not bothering with the door, tailed closely by four limping gorillas—and effectively never bothered the Miao family again.

"Time?" Yeying asked.

"Two minutes, forty-nine seconds," a nearby servant proclaimed.

The Chancellor and I cursed, and handed a smug Miao Li twenty _yuan_ each.

* * *

"I am _so_ proud of you," I told my wife later.

The smile on her face was unlike any I had ever seen; she was certainly very satisfied, as she had every right to be. But the way she held my hand was even more of an indication how happy she was. Not as happy as the day we were married, she assured me, but finally at peace knowing no one would ever contest our marriage. Someone had eventually told the creditor that I, a fellow kung fu master, and red panda, was the lucky husband of the female who had publicly humiliated him, to which he said "good! And good riddance!"

Asshole.

No, I will not apologize for my language.

After the fight, Yeying needed some time to blow off some steam. Her mother suggested a day in the market, some fresh air, would do a lot of good. Plus, she added not-too-subtly, it gave Yeying the chance to "show off her man-candy".

So there we were, walking through the booths, smirking at the gossip we heard already circulating about us. Most people were scandalized, but the younger people especially—and a few of the older folks—were actually impressed with Yeying, and I heard a great many women compliment her on her "choice of man-candy".

"Where's this 'man-candy' thing coming from anyway? Am I suddenly a lust object?" I whispered to her.

"What do you mean 'suddenly'?" she asked coyly, catching me off guard.

"Wait, what?"

"Nothing," she said with a mock-innocent air. She mewled as I caught her around the waist, tickling her with kisses along her jaw.

"You know what I'd like to do right now?" I asked her.

"Shifu! We're in public!"

"Not _that_! I just realized I haven't given you a wedding present."

She looked into my eyes, cupping my face in her hands. "Shifu, darling, I don't need a present to prove your love for me. Just having you is enough."

Touched as I was, I wanted to make this an even happier occasion for her. Aside from that, I felt she deserved something remarkable after the impressive show.

"I'm perfectly serious; as my wife, you deserve it. As my friend, I insist on it."

She shook her head, but smiled at me. "Alright, if it'll make you happy…honey, I don't need anything, but if you insist…"

And I did. I knew exactly what to get for her. While she was looking at a set of porcelain tea cups at one booth, I slipped away to another booth, haggled and bartered, and returned before she was even aware I was gone. When she noticed I had already gotten my gift for her, she smirked, and handed me her wedding gift for me.

We exchanged them later in our room. She had given me a beautifully-crafted calligraphy set and stationary, something I had a great need for to keep in touch with my family (and something I still use to this day. I used it to write these memoirs, for example). She also bestowed a pair of fingerless gloves for the cold winter training in the coming months.

As for her gift, the cost didn't matter. When she opened the scroll I had bought for her, the look on her face made it all worth it.

"Oh Shifu…it's beautiful," she said breathlessly.

"What, that? Next to your beauty, it is nothing."

"I'm serious…darling, I love it." She leaned over and gave me a kiss that made me lightheaded and my knees weak. Slightly dazed, I looked down at her prize, an utterly gorgeous watercolor and ink painting of two nightingales perched in a blossoming tree, peonies, roses and poppies flowing around the borders. The leaves were so verdant a green and flowers so brilliantly colored that they looked almost real, I could practically smell their delicate scents. And the nightingales—a pair mated for life—were so detailed I could see the individual feathers, and the light of love in their eyes. It wasn't my imagination, that spark was there as the nuzzled together in the tree.

"I love you," she whispered, nuzzling me.

"I love you, too," I replied, holding her close. At that moment I wanted nothing more than to hug her, kiss her, and never let go. And I never did.

* * *

As it had gotten rather late, Crane put the scroll back in the basket and stifled a yawn. "Okay, I think that's enough for today."

"Man, I need to do _something_ tomorrow, maybe train for an hour, get some energy?" Mantis said.

"Sounds like a good idea," Monkey agreed. "We need to continue training, or Shifu will get suspicious."

Viper yawned hugely, slithering to the door, "We'll deal with it in the morning, guys. Come on, I'm bushed."

Tigress wordlessly stood, clutching a thick robe closer to her body. Viper had pulled it out earlier, reminding the feline that it had been given to her last New Year's. She ran into Po at the door, almost bumping into him.

"Whoa, easy there…you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, just spaced out for a minute. I'm fine."

"Yeah, you're probably just tired. Get some rest okay? Maybe we can spar in the morning if you're feeling up to it?"

She gave him a tight-lipped smile as she walked out and towards her own room, "We'll see."

* * *

Later that night, Po was on his way to bed after a midnight snack when he spied a light coming from Shifu's room. A wave of panic overtook him: had their master returned so soon, and did he know they had been reading his memoirs? He knew there was no way of sneaking up on the old red panda, so, deciding to forgo any semblance of subtlety or grace, the giant panda rumbled and stumbled into the doorway, falling flat on his face onto the wooden floor.

A feminine gasp told him two things: one, it was not Master Shifu, and two, whoever it was, she had not expected to be interrupted.

He looked up and gaped, "Tigress?"

Tigress sighed, clutching the thick robe closer around her shoulders and looking embarrassed. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he said, picking himself up. "I thought you were in bed?"

"I couldn't sleep," she sighed. "I remembered something…something from the story, and I wondered if it was here."

"If what was here?"

She actually smiled as she held up a scroll, the parchment yellowed with age, held closed with a faded red ribbon tied around it in a tiny bow. "This."

Gently tugging on the bow, she unrolled the scroll, laying it on Shifu's bed. Po gaped, staring at it in wonder.

Tigress had found a scroll…no, _the_ scroll.

"That…that can't be it. There's no way."

"No Po, it is. This is Shifu's wedding present to Yeying…his wife."

Panda and tiger stood in awe of the painting, as exquisite decades later as it must have surely been when it was new. The nightingales perched in the branches of the flowering tree looked just as life-like as Shifu had described, the blossoms still remarkably vibrant fifty years later, the plumage on the birds so minute, they looked ready to come to life and fly right off the paper. Tigress reached out, lightly drawing her fingers over a bird, whose beak was open, likely to warble its song to the full moon perched in the painting's sky.

"Wow."

"Yeah," she agreed, utterly breathless at the beautiful art.

"Was this in his hidey hole?"

"Yes. A lot of things were."

"What else?"

She gave him a look, as if to say she was done stepping over certain boundaries, until he gave her that same look in return. "There's no use denying it, Tigress, we've reached a point of no return here. You know it, I know it."

"We'd be in huge trouble if he knew."

"Come on, we'll be in huge trouble anyway with the memoirs."

"True."

"Come on. I know you're as curious as I am."

"Should we tell the others?"

"Maybe if we find something really juicy…"

"Po!"

"I don't mean like _that_; that would just be weird. And…wrong. I mean, I'd never be able to look him in the eye after that."

Tigress looked over to the hole in the floor, sighed and rolled up the hanging scroll, tying the ribbon again. "Oh what the hell…"

"That's the spirit!" Po smiled cheekily, one that Tigress actually shared. "You warm enough? Don't want you catching cold again."

"Yeah, I'm good…" she paused, then looked over at him. "Thanks. I mean, thanks for taking care of me. I'm sorry if I acted like a brat."

"It's okay. You were sick; you had a good reason. Now, let's see what else is down here…"

Po reached in, felt around, then pulled out a few items. First was Shifu's flute, kept safe in a decorative heirloom box. Then out came various pieces of paper, neatly tied together with red and blue ribbons; "love letters, probably," Tigress explained at Po's quizzical look. Then, Po pulled out…

"A stuffed panda?"

Tigress looked at the creature, a child's toy, the white "fur" yellowed with age, the brilliant black of the panda's distinctive markings faded to a shade of medium grey, its little button eyes, once shiny, now dulled, as if the plaything's soul had departed the corporeal form. For some reason, neither the real panda nor the tiger would deny that there was an air of sorrow with this little stuffed bear.

Tigress rubbed her thumb over one of the button eyes, trying to polish the sheen back, but the toy's eyes were still dim, as if nothing could revive it.

"I wonder whose that was," Po said.

"I don't know," Tigress said truthfully. "But I get the feeling he held onto it for a reason."

"Just like the rest of it…" he trailed off, looking at the treasures in front of them. "I've got a bad feeling."

"Me too. I'm not sure what their future holds, but…" she didn't know how to answer that. Tigress looked up at Po and sighed. "I can't explain it. A part of me is glad to be having this look inside Master's mind, but a part of me…it seems wrong. But I just want to know…"

"To know what?"

"Its stupid," she said, looking away and blushing.

"No its not—it obviously means a lot to you… C'mon, what is it?"

When she looked back into his imploring, gentle green eyes, she couldn't deny it any longer. "I wonder if he could have ever loved me as much as he loved Yeying or Tai Lung." There had been…something of a relief to admit that to someone. It seemed an even bigger relief to admit it to Po. But what horrified her was the sudden sob that caught in her throat when she said...the _L_-word.

Po was speechless. Was that word so hard for her to say? He couldn't imagine Shifu being cruel to her; maybe not openly affectionate, but the red panda _had_ to have cared for Tigress. Otherwise, how would she have become as successful and wonderful and beautiful…

_Whoa, where did all that come from?_

"Hey," he said, boldly wrapping an arm around her. "You know what? I know he did. I bet you that he loved you, and still does…" but he trailed off, silenced by shock.

She was crying. Openly crying in front of him. The image he had of Master Tigress did not include open displays of affection or even so much as a quivering lip. She was not one to have a break down…and yet here she was, shaking in his arms, so ashamed of her tears that she wouldn't meet his eyes.

"He doesn't…he can't…he never said…" she whispered, desperately trying to keep her emotions in check, but was losing the battle.

Po just hugged her, Shifu's treasures now forgotten, as he had something more important on his mind. "Shh…its okay. You know the funny thing about love?"

She sniffed, "What's that?"

He rubbed her arm in a comforting way, letting her cry into his shoulder, "When it comes to love, if you really love someone, you never even need to say it."

* * *

This chapter kicked my ass. Thank you busy holiday season (note sarcasm).

Yeying finally got her chance to shine; before anyone asks, no, I do not know kung fu, or any martial art. I watched pudao demonstrations on youtube and worked from there. There, there's my research. It is really frickin late here and I'm sleep-deprived to bring you this week's update. If I miss anything or screw up, please let me know and I'll fix it.

Thank you, and good night.


	15. Chapter 15

Note: Before anyone objects to the beginning of this chapter, I am going along with the poetic license that SotFF occurred _after_ the winter these characters are currently experiencing. In other words, this is prior to Po's knowledge of the five's pasts…especially Tigress'.

Also, the next chapter gets back to what I _really_ love to write: action. Yes, drama's good and all…but I much prefer battle scenes and a smattering of comedy. Shan's had his share of real zingers, but Li's the resident smartass, so he needs a little more love. :)

As always, please read and review!

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

* * *

Chapter 15

* * *

In all honesty, Po expected the next morning to be awkward. Never mind that he felt he and Tigress had made a breakthrough in their relationship…if it could be called that. Friendship? Not quite. Mutual respect? …Possibly.

But he could not deny the fact that what had happened last night had changed something. Or maybe they had changed? He figured Tigress' feelings towards him remained largely unchanged since the day they met; why would they change?

But Tigress surprised him when she offered to spar with him in the training hall, to "teach him a couple forms to develop his balance. I promised to train him while Shifu was gone, after all."

So here they were, up before any of the rest, up, awake, and training long before most of the servants were awake and beginning their chores. The early rising was _not_ something the panda would ever get used to, for he was decidedly _not_ a morning person. He also didn't appreciate that she was doing this in the cold, while she was only just recovering from a cold; before they left he demanded she wear a thick wool robe, scarf, mittens and an additional layer over the robe for good measure.

Tigress, on the other hand, was in her element, something he believed had been instilled since she was a small child. He suspected—because rarely did she talk about her past—that she had lived at the Jade Palace almost as long as Tai Lung had, that she had parents somewhere who wanted her to escape the fate of most Chinese women, parents who loved her and only wanted the best for her. Her wanting Shifu to appreciate her and love her as a daughter was a likely response to the lack of parental involvement; he surmised this after realizing that none of the other Five—except for Viper—knew anything about Tigress' family. But to his surprise, even Viper admitted that she had no clue what the feline's parents were named. She just knew they were "out there, somewhere, and she missed them".

But there was something Po noticed as he trained with her, learning a form that required quite a bit of acrobatics (which he failed miserably at). There was something quite exotic about her, something he couldn't place. The shape and color of her eyes, for instance…well, he'd seen very few tigers, but she didn't exactly look like the ones he had seen. He wondered where she came from, for surely she wasn't a local.

"Are you paying attention?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah. Sorry, I spaced," he apologized.

She just rolled her eyes, "You've been here four months and you've _still_ haven't gotten used to early mornings? You're hopeless."

"I haven't been doing kung fu since I was a kid, you know."

"Yet you know so much about it."

"Yeah well, I'm kinda obsessed."

"_No…_" she replied sardonically. "Say it isn't so!"

"I'm beginning to think either Shan's or Li's sarcasm is rubbing off on you."

"I admit, they had some nice zingers," she smirked. "Shan was right though—Shifu _does_ look like a stuffed animal."

Po froze and stared at her. She sent him a look. "_What_?"

"Did you honestly _just_ make fun of him?"

"…Are you saying I shouldn't?"

"Naw, it's just that…I dunno, I always thought you had no sense of humor."

Now it was her turn to stare. Putting her hands on her hips, she gave him a no-nonsense look. "_No sense of humor_?"

Po quickly defended himself. "I-I didn't mean anything by it, I swear!"

But she was silent for a moment, contemplating, then asked softly, almost sorrowfully, "Do I really come off as that harsh?"

"You want me to be honest?"

"Please."

"Promise not to maim me or remove any internal organs?"

"I promise not to sell them on the black market, how's that?"

Po still stared; Tigress sighed in resignation, "I was joking."

"…Please don't joke about things like that," he said. "I never know when you're serious." He paused, then said, "Honestly? Yeah, you _are_ that harsh. Every image I have of you, or have ever seen…you always look so serious, so…cold."

"But I'm not," she defended. "I'm not cold…how could anyone think that? I mean, I save people's _lives_ for heaven's sake!"

"Why do _you_ think you come off like that?" he asked. "I know I can come off like I don't care, or that I'm not really serious, or nothing affects me…but that's not true. I _am_ serious about kung fu, as serious as my cooking. And when people make fun of me for my weight or think I'm stupid or smell bad, that hurts. The only difference is that I don't show it; I don't let their opinions bother me, because I can't change their minds. Just like you can't change Shifu's mind or his methods. He's not going to change, but you can."

Tigress was silent for a moment, looking over the training hall, feeling a chill as a cold wind came in through the open roof, early morning sunlight glinting off the snow that lay on the floor that had fallen through the opening. She rubbed her arms to combat the chill she felt, then looked back at Po, "I wasn't always like that…I actually used to be happy, you know?"

"Are you cold?"

"No! I actually care—"

"No, I mean physically, are you cold?"

"Oh…yeah, a little." She blinked in surprise as he took off his overcoat and threw it over her shoulders. "What are you doing?"

"Makin' sure you don't get sick again. C'mon, lemme make you some hot breakfast."

"No soup."

"Oatmeal, I promise," he gave her a reassuring smile. "I found some brown sugar in the cupboard, y'know, if you like that sorta thing…"

She smiled, hugging his coat close to her body, "I do…it's the way I like it. With a tiny bit of cinnamon."

"You like cinnamon?"

"Oh yeah. You know, when I was a girl, there used to be this female rabbit who would make cinnamon sweet buns for breakfast, but only on special occasions. I used to love those, they were my absolute favorite, with cinnamon and dark brown sugar—she'd give me a stick of sugarcane while she baked. When the sweet buns came out, they'd be so big and puffy with the brown sugar all melted inside, and she'd sprinkle more cinnamon on top…"

Po watched her, and saw something that amazed him. It was a smile, one of fond remembrance, of a recollection of something, something that had been so dear to her…

"Tell ya what," he decided executively. "Nix the oatmeal—I'll make those cinnamon buns instead. You deserve something good."

"But…" she started, "They're only for…"

"You're feeling better, aren't you?" he smiled. "That's a special enough occasion for me."

He could have been wrong, but it looked like she was about to cry. Instead she smiled, and when she sniffed, she blamed it on the cold, "Yeah, I think so too…"

He held out his hand to her to help her cross a treacherous spot of ice. "I could use your help though. I never made these before."

Tigress looked at his offered hand, as if deciding if it was a good idea, but then she shrugged and took his hand, "I think we can manage."

* * *

The week in the Miao family villa passed uneventfully after Yeying's dismissal of her former suitor. We saw quite a few well-wishers come to the house to congratulate us on our marriage, some offering small gifts, red envelopes with money, and prayers. Most of Yeying's girlhood friends had already moved out of their homes and were married, and one or two could actually make the trip to see her. One was _very_ pregnant, as round as the moon (her _fifth_!), and the other had her fourth son with her in tow. The second friend's husband was a decent fellow, I admit, and quite as fond of his wife as I was of mine. The rest of Yeying's friends were either married out to faraway villages, or had husbands who wouldn't let them come.

I found that it wasn't misogyny that kept the women at home. After word spread of my marriage, people in Yeying's natal village started to raise their voices…loudly. Many were outraged that the Chancellor had allowed his daughter to marry someone who would not give her sons. Sons, sons, sons…I am beginning to wonder if Chinese care about just three things: philosophy, tea, and sons.

Li's words came back to mind: _they're just jealous_.

"There's more to it than that, I'm afraid," Miao Li said to me one evening as we walked through the market, Yeying's hand in mine, and my mother-in-law clasping the hand of her husband. "Sometimes I wonder if society ever considered that the gods gave us the ability to love for a reason. In a perfect world we would all marry for love, and to the person we want, not the one our families want."

"In a perfect world," my wife stated, "it would be illegal for a man to strike his wife, or for a woman be forced to bind her feet. Women would have the same rights as men, the same freedoms, and to take those freedoms away would be criminal."

"And next I suppose you'll tell me that religion will be illegal?" the Chancellor snorted. "For isn't religion where we get many of our societal norms? What next, the government telling us how many children we are allowed to have? No, Daughter, I know this is not a perfect world…but I fear for China if it should ever attempt to be perfect."

"How do you mean?" I asked.

"I've seen this at court: you wonder why it takes so long to get _anything_ done in government? Just to get a single signature takes a month of bartering and haggling, and another month to discuss the pros and cons of it. The reason is simply that men each have differing ideas of perfection. What is heaven for one man is hell for another. That is why there is no heaven on earth. The gods saw fit to give us the ability to love, yes," here he tenderly patted his wife's hand. "But did they not also give us free will? Free will is the reason for everything. One imposes their will on another, the other doesn't like it, boom, there's war."

"But free will is a gift, darling," Miao Li reasoned. Yeying and I just stood back; clearly this was an old pastime between the two of them.

"I will not deny a gift of the gods when it is obvious, my dear, but I am saying that it is a gift most often used for ill means…"

"Ill means by men who are _not_ learned in sutras like reasonably educated people."

"And what are generals? Reasonably educated, yes, but they impose their free will and cause suffering!"

"Is this normal?" I asked Yeying. She nodded, "Oh yeah. I think I inherited my mother's oratory skills. I swear she and Father were debating these very same things while I was still in the womb."

"Well now I know where you get it," I whispered, earning a playful slap in return.

Despite my initial misgivings, I did enjoy my time there. That week was just what I needed to get to know my father-in-law better. He taught me to play mahjong, something I had always had very little patience for. He was a tough teacher, but I learned quickly. For example, I quickly learned that I sucked at mahjong. Yeying, her two brothers, their wives, my father-in-law, my mother-in-law, and a good 60% of the children were able to best me. I gave up.

After a week, we gathered our things and prepared to leave for my home. Miao Li saw us out, and the Chancellor said he would escort us as far as the first four-way stop; he was heading back to the Imperial City for an annual meeting, and promised to see us along. When we parted ways, he held his daughter tightly as if he'd never see her again; to my surprise, she hugged him just as tightly.

"Remember who you are," he told her. "This is the only gift a father can give his daughter, to remind her who she is. I can give you many gifts, but none that are as important as this one." He slipped her a tiny scroll which she pocketed discretely.

"I will, _Baba_, thank you." One last wave, and he was going north, towards the capital, while we continued west.

"What did he give you?" I asked her a little later.

Yeying finally handed me the scroll. She knew what it was. When I opened it, I was…shocked to say the least.

"Is this what I think it is?" I asked.

"Yup."

"He's okay with this?"

"Mother's been trying to get him to do this for years. All he needed was to see me in action." She took my hand and gripped it. "It's not quite a daughter, but having our youngest niece training at the Jade Palace is a start, isn't it?"

* * *

The funny thing about marriage is all that they _don't_ tell you about marriage. For example, they don't tell you that you're going to fight. Many of the things Miao Li warned me about would eventually become true. Yeying and I started to bicker about the stupidest things; going to bed mad was a frequent occurrence. Come morning, we would still be so mad at each other we—you guessed it—sparred until the aggression was kicked out…sometimes literally. I don't recommend physical violence when working out a disagreement with your spouse, but in our case, it worked. By the time we were done fighting, we were so exhausted we had forgotten what we were mad at to begin with.

A week on the road by ourselves was an interesting way to test the waters of our relationship. Most of it was learning by trial and error. I learned things I had no clue to when she was still my friend, and she learned things about me I kept carefully hidden.

We slept together in our small—"cozy"—tent. We ate by the banks of mighty rivers, under ancient trees and by the light and warmth of crackling fires. A week on the road, and we finally made it to my home village. Because we were higher in the mountains, snow had come early to the region, and a light dusting, perhaps three inches or so, carpeted the ground. The villagers had good timing; judging by the equipment we saw left by the drained rice paddies, they had only just completed the harvest.

I could hardly recognize the village. The simple wooden structures were long gone: everything was constructed of stone. In the distance there was evidence that Mount Tai Lung had itself a quarry, and the snow leopards and villagers were making a killing (so to speak) selling the stone to merchants across the empire. Rumor had it even the Emperor requested some of it for a wing of his summer palace. I could only imagine how Jin Lung felt about that.

The long winding dirt roads I remembered as a child were now paved with smooth river stone, and this place had blossomed from a simple farming community into a bustling, up-an-coming town. Had I blinked, and missed all of this?

Yeying was as astounded as I was. When we had saved Zhou-tong from Red Claw's forces, there was maybe twenty houses for twenty different families, and possibly no more than thirty huts around the rice paddies for those poorer families, linked by rambling dirt roads. Now, those huts were gone, and the houses—proper houses—numbered in the hundreds. There was art here, music, and architecture so impressive that Chancellor Miao might have been jealous.

"What the hell happened?" I asked myself.

"No clue—but something tells me that quarry has something to do with…holy cow," she pointed. We were in the center of the village. The main square had been just a packed earth clearing in my youth. Now, it was paved over, with a fountain—and fountain!—in the middle, with fresh running water; women and children were gathering fresh water there for their houses.

"Nice, ain't it?"

Ochir had come up to meet us, grabbing us in a huge, bone-crunching hug in greeting. "I didn't recognize this place—those snow leopards really know how to work with rocks."

"The _snow leopards_ did all of this?" I gasped.

"Is that _running water_?" Yeying gaped.

"Yeah, actually. Mountain spring water. It runs on something Jin Lung called a 'pipe line' underground. _Under _the_ ground_, can you believe that? They set this up two summers ago, apparently. There's this guy, the Dragon's Lair head engineer, Tai Lee, he's a cool guy. Got this plan for something, eh…'indoor plumbing' I think he called it? Anyway, he designed all of this."

"Did he also design the layout of the town?" I asked.

"Hell naw, your brother did that."

"My _brother_?"

He beckoned us to follow him. "C'mon, there's a lot you need to see. Oh, and before it comes up, Shan's okay, he's just, uh, been distracted lately…"

* * *

As it turns out, "distracted" was an understatement.

Shan, it had appeared, had found himself a girlfriend.

Sort of.

She was the youngest daughter of Jin Lung, who was fiercely over-protective of her. Min Lung, "gentle dragon", was the clan's sweetheart. Scarcely above eighteen years, she was attractive in her demeanor, her sharp intellect, and most of all, her childlike curiosity to learn more about the world beyond the mountain. That curiosity led her to Xue Shan, who was at first repulsed.

Yes, _repulsed_.

I kept forgetting he was blind. We all did. Ochir almost yelled at him "can't you see how hot she is?!" before he remembered that he couldn't. Ochir finally had to tell him to touch the girl's face to "show" him her beauty.

As soon as he did, he was never the same.

The snow leopard I saw in front of me was _not_ the Shan I had known since I was a young adolescent. This snow leopard tripped over himself, stuttered when he spoke to her, and would have bent over backwards for this girl. Now, one could argue it was his total denial of his, ahem, _urges_, but once we truly _met _Min Lung, we knew why he was so whipped.

"Gentle Dragon" my eye! We found out later that when it came to battle, she was _ruthless_! And he _loved_ her violent nature.

In fact, when Shan had first touched her face, she got offended (apparently it is a cultural insult in snow leopard society to touch the face of one you are not close to). He probably still bears the scars she gave him. Only one other female had ever done that to him, and she was married to me.

When we found him in the large guest room of my parents' house (a converted upstairs women's chamber my mother saw no use for), he was over the moon…or moon-crazy. Either way, he was not himself. He actually greeted Yeying with a hug and such flowery speech I was preparing to remind him who was actually married to her.

"_Gods_, if you could see this woman!" he sighed. "I mean, looks aside, she's got one hell of a sense of humor—you think I'm morbid? She makes me look like I'm nothing but rainbows and sunshine. And she's so smart! And when she fights…!"

"We get it, you're in love," Ochir said, rolling his eyes and giving me a long-suffering look. "They've only known each other for a week, and look what happens. First time the man sees a pretty face and I _lost_ him, man, totally lost him!"

"You really think we've lost him?" I asked, glancing over at the lovesick snow cat.

"Shifu, he's a thousand miles away."

Shan sighed contentedly, and I swore he was purring just _thinking _of Min Lung…

"Yeah," I agreed, "He's whipped."

"So how did you two meet again?" Yeying asked him. Shan stood from his perch on the bedroll and paced the room,

"I was meditating one morning, like I usually do, and while I'm working on one sutra, I hear someone coming up behind me, right? It had snowed the night before, and kids were playing in the snow, snowball fights, you know that stuff, it was making it tough to concentrate, but I could hear the crunching snow from someone walking…you get it. Anyway, I hear someone trying to sneak up on me, and I'm not having that. I throw a snowball, miss, and get nailed in the face."

"You got nailed in the face with a snowball?"

"Knocked on my ass, yup," he nodded, but he didn't seem too disappointed. "I recognized the laugh; Min Lung," he sighed dreamily.

"Oh, _gag_," Ochir muttered.

"Oh, _yes_!" Shan said excitedly. "I mean, at first I was really, really irritated, but then I felt her face when she tried to help me up…I 'saw' an angel, or what I imagine them to be…"

I whispered to Ochir as an aside, "Is she cute?"

"Remember Tai Mei?"

"Yeah."

"Hotter than Tai Mei."

"Whoa."

"Wait," Yeying jumped in, "You mean to tell me that _you_—Mr. Can't-No-One-Sneak-Up-On-Me-Never-Ever-Ever—got hit by a snowball?"

"I was distracted," he said quickly, trying to save face.

"Clearly," I said, making sure he heard my insinuation. It's too bad I couldn't record the dirty look he gave me for posterity; it was priceless. In fact, there were many moments with my friends and family and throughout my life that I wish for some way to capture the moment forever, to show others the good times we had, the faces of people we have forgotten, and the things that changed our lives.

For instance, if there were some way for me to see a play-by-play of how those two snow leopards met, I guarantee I would have held it in blackmail against Shan for the rest of his life.

* * *

When we finally had the occasion to meet Min Lung…well, Ochir was right. Next to Min Lung, Tai Mei looked like a crone. Min Lung was a real beauty, with her mother's golden amber eyes, graceful movements and soft lips…forgive me. Years later, just the memory of her beauty is distracting. At the time, I had to keep reminding myself I was a married man.

Elder Brother was giving us a tour of the town that Second Brother had designed. He had always complained that the layout of the village didn't make any sense, and that if he had the chance, he'd make it better. Well, after our father was appointed the new village headman, Second Brother became the key developer, working his designs into Tai Lee's plans for a larger village. It wasn't long before we came upon the pair hunched over a table eating wontons and pouring over diagrams and plans, but they weren't alone.

I recognized my youngest sister-in-law immediately, and she welcomed me with open arms and a wide smile. I had to curb my enthusiastic hug—she was as round as the full moon with her fourth child, and looked the picture of motherhood; consequently, for every pregnancy she always craved wontons from that particular booth. Second Brother and Tai Lee had simply decided that meeting there would just make it easier.

Sitting next to my sister-in-law was undoubtedly the most beautiful example of a snow leopard I had ever seen. Glancing at my wife, I saw even she was astounded. Min Lung had all the slender graces of her species, a slim graceful neck and a lovely face, round and pale as the full moon, dotted with tiny spots that accentuated the delicate bone structure. Her eyes were a stunning golden amber that could fix a man in his tracks, and that sly, somewhat smug smile she directed at Shan could easily have been misconstrued as a predatory glint.

"Well, Master Xue Shan, do what do we owe the honor?" she asked coyly.

I was amazed he could keep himself together long enough to give a coherent answer: "I thought that was you, Min Lung. These are my friends, the ones I was telling you about? Masters Shifu and Yeying. They were married about three weeks ago."

"Only married less than a month, eh?" she smiled at Yeying. "How is it working out?"

"Pretty well, I'm not going to lie," my wife replied, slipping her hand in mine. Min Lung's expression softened considerably, "I wish you the best of luck, and many years together."

Knowing Shan wasn't the only snow leopard watching her didn't escape my notice. Tai Lee sent Shan an annoyed look but got back to his plans, desperate for a distraction, something to keep his temper in check. It was something he was known for, but luckily his outbursts were infrequent; his fuse was the longest of any feline I have ever met. Easily a workaholic, he threw himself headlong into everything he did, with an almost obsessive tenacity to completing every single project he began. My guess, judging by the looks he kept sending to Min Lung, was that his reasoning for his obsessive-compulsive work philosophy was anything _but_ personal work ethic.

We pulled another table over and began conversing with my brother and his new "partner in crime", as he called him. While my sister-in-law and my wife got caught up, I watched Shan and Min Lung out of the corner of my eye.

She showed such outward poise, it was difficult to tell she was at all flustered by Shan's attentions. Not that he was being completely transparent, indeed, he was barely containing himself around her, which made her smile and blush. He was sly when it came to compliments; if there was one thing you could never accuse him of, it was being a poet.

"Your hands are cold, are you dressed warm enough? You can have my cloak," he offered.

"Master Shan, we're _snow leopards_," she reminded him with a sly smirk.

"Really? That explains the long fluffy tail, then," he teased, grinning when she giggled. I saw Tai Lee roll his eyes, which didn't escape my wife's notice either. I think both of us believed that if Shan could have seen the venomous looks Tai Lee gave him, Tai Lee would be short one pelt, or a head shorter, if you catch my drift.

"How long do you intend to stay, Master Shan?" the female continued.

"As long as my friends intend to stay."

"Are you always so loyal?"

"To those I love, absolutely. I mean," he bit his lip and I heard Yeying giggle. Shan covered, "Love as in _family_, my friends are my…family, does that make any sense? I think I confused myself…"

Min Lung giggled, shaking her head, "Its okay, I got your meaning. Your friends are lucky to have you in their lives."

I could be wrong, but she seemed absolutely smitten with him as well. The more I watched them, the more I began to think…_She's good for him_. Not that she was _too_ good for him, or not good _enough_. She was good for him. I knew very little about her, but from what I could tell, she could be as sweet as honey but carry a viper's bite if she needed to. That pirate's smile almost always on her face and those stunning eyes told me that much.

The table shook violently when Tai Lee was shocked out of his reverie by Jin Lung's barked order. He hissed in pain, both knees apparently hitting the underside of the tabletop.

"Tai Lee! You were supposed to meet with us in the Main Hall," the matriarch marched over. "And yet here you are, passing your time in idleness like it is meaningless. This snow means winter is coming sooner this year than last, and there are still roofs that need rebuilding…"

"I've sent my roofing crews to mediate the problem, ma'am," he said calmly, keeping his voice and face as expressionless as possible. But then I saw a flicker of something—hope?—when Min Lung spoke up.

"Mama, take it easy on him. You work him like a dog already. Tai Lee's the smartest guy in the valley, and I think he's aware that snow generally means winter."

Jin Lung sent her daughter an annoyed look; Min Lung just grinned cheekily, sending back a mock-innocent expression.

"Be that as it may," the clan leader continued, "You have an obligation to attend these meetings, no matter how…_busy_…you are."

"My fault, I'm afraid," Second Brother stepped in, taking the blame. "We're still working the logistics for plumbing, and must have lost track of time."

"Hang this 'plumbing' nonsense, its too late in the year to do anything about it. Leave it for spring."

"Ma'am," Tai Lee spoke, and I was amazed at the oxymoronic strong voice spoken with a soft tone, "I feel I'm on the verge of a breakthrough…"

"I have very little patience, young man," she said, getting in his face. "If you weren't so good at what you do, I would have kicked you out for being an embarrassment to our clan; don't press your luck. You _will_ be at the summit next week, or you can kiss your job goodbye."

The male snow leopard stared straight ahead like a soldier in the ranks, and gave a curt nod, "Yes Ma'am."

"Min Lung, we're leaving."

The young female sent her mother a look, "I want to stay a little longer. I'm only just getting to know Shifu and Yeying."

Jin Lung gave Shan a look so murderous I honestly feared for his life. "_Now_, young lady."

Min Lung sighed and stood, patting Shan's shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Shan held back on the dejected sigh as he gently grasped her hand, "Okay. See you."

The two females set off, the elder marching double-time and her daughter struggling to keep up.

"And I thought _my_ parents were strict," I said.

Tai Lee sighed and began collecting his various papers and writing instruments, "That's just the way it is. Only a suicidal fool has a chance with her. I'll see you later, Chin," he said to my brother.

"See you, Tai."

"Okay, fill us in," Yeying asked my brother and his wife, once Tai Lee was out of earshot. "What did Jin Lung mean by him being an embarrassment?"

"His father was a weapons expert," my sister-in-law explained as she massaged her round stomach. "And he was supposed to follow in his father's footsteps, but he hated the idea of becoming a 'merchant of death', bless his heart. But he was also…well…"

"He was also the runt of the litter," my brother said finally.

"That's one hell of a runt," I said appreciatively. Tai Lee may not have been as strong or as massive as Shan, but he was still rather well-built, likely from his primary job in construction. If no one had told me, I would have guessed him to be a warrior; it became clear there wasn't a bone in his body that actually _wanted_ any of that.

"That's what I thought," my brother continued. "Still though, of all the snow leopards I've ever met—even Shan here—Tai's the most humble of any of them. I'm guessing living so long in the shadow of others, where nothing you do is ever good enough, will do that to a guy," my brother shook his head. "But it's incredible—the things he's accomplished, the designs he's done, he _built_ this entire town from the ground up! And once this indoor plumbing thing kicks off, can you imagine the honor it will bring his family and the entire clan? We heard word that the Emperor knows about his plans to bring running water _indoors_. No more having to go to a well to fetch water. Want to take a bath? Pull a line and water just comes right out of a pipe and into the tub! There're so many other ideas he's got…the guy's a genius, pure _genius_!"

I noticed Shan's jaw had set while Second Brother was extolling his comrade's virtues, but the feline grudgingly admitted, "I admire that he uses the skills of a warlike trade to make a peaceful existence for himself. I won't deny that…"

But he also couldn't deny that there was just a hint of jealousy there, too.

* * *

Ochir informed us that Shan and Min Lung weren't the only couple we'd have to deal with for the next month.

"We ran into Ren along the way here. Li stayed behind to 'catch up'. Ren promised to stop by here—the road he's taking passes by the village, so he'll probably camp for a few days."

And sure enough, not two days after we arrived in the village, Ren's regiment arrived as well. I had never seen the wolf in his full military regalia, and I must admit that while the other officers looked impressive in their red cloaks and thick armor…Ren just looked uncomfortable, out of place. He didn't cut as impressive an air as I was used to him being. There was something wrong here; something that didn't quite fit, or something that was missing.

Li ran forward and we embraced like brothers, then he launched into a barrage of questions about Yeying's family, while I asked after he and Ren. Ren was, of course, allowed to stay with my family—the other officers were staying at a nearby inn.

"I'm not going to lie, they were tough," he said later by the fireplace, telling us about a recent battle he'd been in. "Granted, we had some of Khan's men on our side, but those Manchurians still know how to fight."

"How _is_ Khan, anyway?" Ochir asked. "Haven't heard much lately."

"He's well. Had his first grandchild a couple months back. Borte's still in the capital as the _official_ Mongolian ambassador."

"Wow, good for her!" Yeying grinned. "The Emperor must really like her."

"He likes that she's direct," Ren smirked. "Most of his council are so afraid of him, they tell him only what he wants to hear—she tells him everything, and isn't afraid of his temper. He respects that, I think."

"You've _met_ the Emperor?" Shan asked, suddenly not preoccupied with his crush (or more accurately, his obsession).

"Once or twice."

"What's he like?"

Ren shrugged, "He's an emperor." He sighed through his nose at our deadpan stares, and elaborated. "Okay, fine, he's…actually very nice. A philosopher, some-time poet. Getting on in years, but still sharp-minded. As he ages, he prefers peace over war, like most elders do. He's very fair."

His short, clipped answer left something to be desired, but we could tell that there was a reason for it. Li likely knew that reason already, but as for the rest of us, we could only guess. Ochir seemed to understand and respect the decision to keep secrets—he had a military upbringing in early childhood, so at least that was something he and Ren shared.

We had dinner, then as it was quite dark and cold decided to head straight to bed. Because we were still in my parents' home, Li ended up sleeping in a separate bedroll from Ren so he wouldn't raise my family's suspicions. Once they were alone with us behind closed doors, they stayed in each other's arms, keeping warm from shared body heat. Yeying and I did the same, wrapped in a blanket as we sat by the light of the brazier until Yeying, Li, Ochir and Shan retired to sleep.

But Ren and I were still wide awake; I could tell from the concerned, almost haunted look in his eyes as he gazed upon his sleeping lover that something was bothering him. After a long moment and a heavy sigh, he looked over at me and said, "I think I need some air. Want to come with?"

* * *

We ended up simply going down to the kitchen, where we could be alone, and not bother the sleeping household. Ren pulled me aside and offered a game of mahjong, which I politely refused, citing my abysmal abilities. Instead, we settled down for chess, for which I was at least proficient; the wolf, I'm afraid, with his upbringing amongst the army, was an expert.

Yes, he handed me my tail, but he was fair enough to go easy on me.

"There's actually something I wanted to discuss with you," he finally confessed, fingering a piece. "Something I haven't brought up with Li, yet."

"I'm not sure I'm the guy you should be speaking to," I said, making my move and stealing a pawn.

"You're his best friend, and you know him better than I do."

"Well, I wouldn't say that. I think there're some things you know about him that I don't," I said pointedly with an arched brow.

Here he blushed, just a little, chuckling to hide his embarrassment, "Yeah, I suppose you could say that. But anyway, this isn't about that. I'm resigning my post in the army."

I knocked over my queen in shock. "You're what? Are you crazy? Think of the opportunities!"

"I have, and I've thought of the consequences as well. I've talked this over with Borte, and she agrees that…something isn't right in the Forbidden City." He lowered his voice and leaned in closely, speaking in a tone so low, only one gifted with impressive hearing—like me, or Shan, who I knew was on the other side of the village by now—would decipher. "We think there may be a coup."

I struggled to digest this. "A coup? Against the emperor? Who would be so…stupid?"

"'Desperate' is more accurate. There are a lot of people who aren't happy with the way the empire is being run. The Emperor—may he reign a thousand years—is aging, and alarmingly fast. The last time we were in the capital, Borte even told him her concern that he didn't look well. He knows her well enough now and trusts her judgment that he didn't get insulted. But she and I agree that there may be a plot to take his life."

"H-how? How can that be possible? Who would dare…?"

"Shifu, you don't understand," he pressed. "This is going to be an inside job. Most people…well, this emperor has been rather progressive. Every daughter he sired never had her feet bound; he educated them, let them take part in the imperial exams. The battle of Red Claw Ridge taught him that it may be a good idea to open our borders and admit more trade, repair diplomatic ties with other nations. He has plans to change the very social structure of the empire. His ministers won't say anything for fear of getting their heads lopped off, but I can tell—they want to keep the status quo."

"So why leave the army?"

"I can't do anything to stop the coup from happening if I don't have the evidence to sever the head from the body, if you'll excuse the term. I've talked it over with the General—you remember him? He's the next in line for the throne if the Emperor passes away too soon. The General agrees that if I work undercover, I can gain the information I need. But I wouldn't have the backing of the army—they'd report everything I did. The only way to prevent this is to form a secret task force; so secret that not even the Emperor will know of its existence."

I didn't like this at all. This was a huge risk and very dangerous. I trusted Ren's instincts, of course, but I feared for his life if he were discovered. I told him my fears; he chuckled mirthlessly, "Why do you think I haven't told Li? But this is to protect him as much as to protect the Emperor."

"How is this protecting him?"

Ren sighed, ignoring our game, "I think my men are coming on to my secret. I have refused to marry someone just to keep up appearances; that wouldn't be fair to her, and it's not fair to Li. My honor code won't allow me to do that. But if I don't…"

"Damned if you do, damned if you don't."

"Exactly. My men are already suspicious. If I resign, 'disappear' for a while, start up the task force—no less than ten, maybe as many as twenty—of people whom I _know_ are loyal to me, and can be trusted to keep _my_ secret as well as others, I can be with Li without any fears."

"But won't the Emperor know?"

He fixed me with a look. "Shifu, if you had _any_ idea what sexual acts were performed behind the Forbidden City's walls…well, it makes what Li and I do look as natural as—"

"I get it, thank you," I said, getting a little uncomfortable. "No offense…"

"It's alright," he smiled in understanding. "I figured discussing your best friend's sexual nature with his boyfriend must be a bit…uncomfortable for you."

"Just a little." I paused, mulling over the information I had just been given. "May I ask…"

"If you insist," he teased with a smirk.

"If you're resigning…how will you hide what you're doing?"

He returned his attention back to our game, and stole one of my knights. "I was thinking of opening a tea shop."

"Be serious."

"I'm perfectly serious. I have a colleague whose remedies are _amazing_. Think of it: rare teas, herbals, medicinal treatments…cater to the upper crust of society but provide goods and services to the common people, make it look like an honest business, but use the shop as a meeting place. I would live there, of course, set up shop in the capital. Perhaps the Emperor would grace us with a visit."

"I still think it's risky."

"Being a soldier is risky," he said as I moved my remaining rook across the board. "I'd rather not have to face an enemy on the battlefield. I know I'm built for it, bred for it, but I've seen what war has done to my father…I don't want to run the risk of it happening to me."

I didn't know what to say. There was more than he was saying. "Ren? Is something wrong with your father?"

He sighed, crossing his arms on the table and hanging his head. He paused, probably to formulate the best way to break whatever news he had. When he finally looked up, he looked worn and worried, "He's taken to the bottle."

This was the worst news I could have imagined. The warrior who had been my childhood hero, the one I wanted to emulate in life…how had he fallen so far?

"How long…?"

"I've only known about it for a month," he said. "It's probably been going on for years and I just never noticed. His injuries from the Battle of Red Claw Ridge…they did something to him. He came so close to death that time, I think it scared him."

"Red Claw probably had something to do with it."

"Oh, undoubtedly. My going away to fight probably didn't help. I refuse to feel guilty about it. He's an adult, and it's his life, his responsibility."

"I don't know how you can just sit back and watch…"

"I am _not_ sitting back and watching," he snapped viciously, quickly defensive. "Do you really think I haven't tried helping him? I took off a month from campaigning and training recruits to help him kick the habit. He's not willing to help himself…I've given up…" he sighed again. "But this is my chance, my last chance to help him. If I can _prove_ to him that everything he trained me for, everything he raised me to be, was for the good of the empire, for the good of China…maybe that'll give him hope."

"Ren," I asked after a pause. "Does he know about you and Li?"

The guilty look told me everything. He glanced at me and shook his head, "Don't look at me like that. I've tried telling him, but it never seems like the right time. Telling him now would put him on a downward spiral he won't be able to come back from. No, the time isn't right. But I know I can't wait much longer."

"Oogway knows."

"I know. I can't believe it took him that long to figure it out," he chuckled. He shook his head, getting back to the original topic. "I think it was the inborn slyness from my mom's side that's helped me win battles before. I haven't lost a battle yet, and I don't intend to now."

"Your mother…?"

"Didn't you know? My parents' marriage was arranged; she came from a family with a long history of training in espionage, a long line of imperial assassins too. I think mom actually worked as a guard for the Dowager Empress before the Empress died; my mother married my father not long after."

"Miao Li said she 'married beneath her'…"

"To a common soldier born of a peasant family. I make no secret my family's humble beginnings. I think it makes people respect me more." He moved a piece. "Dad said I take after her more than I do him. I'm not as stubborn as he is, I'm more willing to take to diplomacy than war. I understand that it all boils down to money. War is a business…"

"A business that kills people," I muttered.

He winked at me, "And you think I'm crazy for wanting to get out of it?"

I moved a piece across the board; he quickly stole it. I looked up, "When are you going to tell him?"

"Li? I…" he sighed raggedly. "I'll tell him before I leave. I need to head back to the capital to hand in my resignation, which is what I'm doing immediately. I told my superiors about…well, about my father. They're sympathetic, and one of them said he'd understand if I were to ask for an honorable discharge. Filial duties override everything in this society."

"Thank the gods for that."

"Amen." He paused, then fiddled with a piece he had taken. "There's also something I wanted to ask of you…a blessing, if you will."

"A blessing?"

"Well, I can't exactly ask Li's parents…"

A wide smile broke out on my face. "Are you asking me what I think you're asking?"

He smiled wide for the first time since we'd met, but looked a little sheepish, "Well, you are his best friend, so who else would I ask?"

"If you're asking what I think you are," I told him, overjoyed. "Then you got that blessing."

* * *

The next day, to everyone's surprise but my own, Li was over the moon. Actually, he might as well have been over every celestial body in the sky. I had never seen him so happy, and you know what, he deserved this happiness. Both he and Ren deserved it.

Ren had roused him early, while the rest of us were still asleep, taking him someplace for a short while for some privacy…and Li's delighted shout woke the rest of us immediately. When we finally confronted him about it, he told us elatedly,

"I'm moving in with him!" he grinned.

Yeying asked, "Moving in, as in…forever?"

"Well, technically we can't get married," Li explained. "I mean, we're probably going to do some kinda ceremony where we promise ourselves to each other...but…yeah, forever."

She paused, stunned, but when it sunk in, she squealed in delight and hugged him. "That's great! Oh my heavens, Li, that's wonderful! Congratulations!"

Ochir punched Ren's shoulder in lieu of a hug, "Way to go, wolf. Gotta hand it to ya."

"You bet," Shan said, shaking his hand, "Congratulations."

"Thanks," the wolf said breathlessly. "I didn't think I would keep it together…but I did it. This is something I've been planning for months, and dreaming of for years."

"Good job," Ochir nodded. "Just one thing, though—Li snores."

"Oh I know."

"He's also got a bottomless stomach," Shan warned. "So feeding him will be tough."

"I think I can manage."

"And if you don't treat him right, we'll break your legs," Ochir said, slamming his fist into his open palm. Shan smiled wickedly, unsheathing his claws.

Ren's smile fell. "…Okay, I'll remember that."

Li ignored all of this and hugged me in celebration, "I can't believe it! This is…this is all so unexpected. I mean, I never expected…of course I dreamed but…holy _shit_, man!"

I laughed and hugged him back, "I'm really happy for you, Li."

"Did he really ask you for a blessing?"

"Yeah, actually," I said. He gave me a lopsided grin, "Thanks…of all the things you've done for me…this is one of the best."

"Not the best?"

"No," he clapped a hand to my shoulder. "The best thing you ever did was become my friend."

No, I was not going to cry…that was not going to touch me so much that I was going to…_damn_…

"Shifu, are you crying?"

"No, just got something in my eye—dusty in here."

He nodded in understanding. "You're right—a lotta dust."

* * *

As expected, Ren departed for the capital within a few days. Before he left, of course, Li gave him a (very) personal going-away present: a rather passionate kiss that we had to leave the room for. It was Yeying's doing; she felt it was something too personal for an audience. When Ren stumbled out of the room a moment later, a dazed and goofy smile was plastered on his face. Li just looked rather proud of himself. Truthfully, if I gave Yeying a kiss like that (and believe me, I did), I'd feel proud too.

Also on Ren's To-Do list was going home to tend to his father, and see what could be done. Li offered to go and help; Ren told him to wait and see how things went. I think we all knew what he meant: he was finally going to tell his father. Needless to say, we prayed for him daily that things would go well. Pending the results of that reunion, Li would move into the Jian family home…or Ren would move to the Jade Palace.

We spent three more weeks in Zhou-tong, then knew it was necessary to return to the Valley of Peace. Shan was sad to be going, and Min Lung was despondent as well. Jin Lung couldn't hold in her enthusiasm, much to her daughter's dismay. Fortunately, Shan and Min Lung wouldn't have to wait long to see each other again; she made a special visit that following spring and spent the majority of that year with us.

I was happy for them, I really was. I think we all believed they would work out. I think you can tell that it didn't. In the end, I'll never know exactly what happened…but as for what _did_ happen, that is a revelation for another chapter.

* * *

Ten years later, Yeying and I were still happily, blissfully, ecstatically married, as in love with each other as the day of our wedding. In that decade, word of mouth about our training reached across the empire, and our class sizes exploded in population. Master Oogway couldn't remember the last time he'd had so many students in the Palace.

"This is what the Jade Palace was meant to be," he told me one day in the Hall of Warriors. "Seeing you and Yeying assuming roles you love, and living a life that fulfills your every need and want makes me glad. Seeing all these children learning the ancient art and skills warms my heart." What he meant was that, since the majority of us had left to pursue our own dreams, the Palace had felt rather empty.

Li had left the Palace to go live with Ren, as planned, but not in the Jian household. Much to my surprise—and delight—Jian Qiang had actually been glad for the news when Ren told him. He wasn't thrilled to hear his son had no interest in women, obviously, but knowing the object of his son's affections was Li, someone he knew quite well, lessened the blow. "As long as my only son is happy," he had said, "I am happy."

He _was_ uncomfortable with not having heirs to the family name, but Ren assured a way around that. "I hope so," was all the old wolf would say on the subject. The three of them sold the house and moved to the capital city where, sure enough, Ren opened that tea shop he had talked about. Having his father living with them made it easier for the younger wolf to force his father to stop drinking. "Three cups of tea in the morning, and three at night," Li told us in a letter. "You'd be amazed what it's done for 'Papa-in-law'." Otherwise, the tea shop was hugely popular. Its reputation preceded itself—its most famous client was, of course, the Emperor, and his _entire_ court…which was exactly what Ren had hoped for.

Xue Shan and Ochir left the Palace not too long after Li left. They had gotten restless (and slightly jealous/disgusted at the "lovey-dovey crap" we newly-weds were known for). So, they set off to find their fortunes, and if rumors are to be believed, they got into their fair share of scuffles and skirmishes. But they had become quite a team, until there was not a warrior in the land who was foolish enough to take them on, even individually.

Even then, he and Shan parted ways, Ochir to the western, and eventually southern part of the empire, and Shan back to Zhou-tong. The monthly letters I received from my youngest sister-in-law (whom I was always fond of, and continue to be) told that his relationship with Min Lung had escalated, and rumors of engagement were running rampant.

As for my wife and I, things could not have been better.

* * *

I was thirty-two, Yeying was soon to turn thirty, and we were perfectly content with our lives, but for one thing…

Children. We had talked about it, considered it, waited, but now, Yeying and I were certain. We wanted children, as many as possible. Many of our younger students would have jumped at the chance, if not for their own loving families.

"We should go to Bao Gu," my wife told me one night as we lay in bed together. "We're sure to find someone there."

"You're absolutely right," I said. "What do you think…boy first, or a girl? And how old?"

"Oh, I could care less; why not both? I just want them to be healthy, and eager to find a loving family, which I'm sure we'd be."

"Definitely," I said, holding her hand. "But for the record, I hope we find a girl, one just like you."

"Good lord, Shifu, you can barely handle _one_ of me!" she laughed.

I smirked, rolling her over onto her back, nose-to-nose. "You're so sure about that?"

"Are you willing to prove me wrong?"

"What do you think?"

But our dream of a perfect family would have to wait. The next day after we finally determined to adopt, we received a letter from Lady Borte, from the Forbidden City. We—Jian Ren, Dong Li, Xue Shan, Ochir, Yeying, and myself—were needed in the capital, to serve the Emperor.

* * *

It was very near to lunch time, but Po had made so many of the sweet cinnamon buns that the Five—and especially Tigress—had feasted all morning. The panda had lost count of how many the tiger had eaten…lost count at…six, maybe? They were on the small side, she admitted, but tasted just as good as she remembered them. To Po, seeing the nostalgic smile whenever she bit down into one of the buns was worth all the fighting, all the disagreements. He would _gladly_ cook those for her every day if only to see that perfectly unadulterated gleeful smile.

Monkey, who had known Tigress even longer than Viper, whispered to him, "I haven't seen her this content in years. How did you know this was her favorite food?"

Po just shrugged, sharing a secret smile with the tiger. "Eh, I had a hunch."

Monkey sent a significant look to his three comrades, who all silently agreed. If their hunches were correct, they wagered some things were about to change quite drastically in the Jade Palace.

But for a certain panda and tiger, who offered to share the last sweet bun with him, life was good.

* * *

I don't think I can hide it anymore, this is starting to become a Pogress fic. Totally didn't mean to do it when I started it, but that's just the nature of the beast, I guess. Oh well. Y'all know what to do.


	16. Chapter 16

Many apologies for taking so long with this update as this chapter with the myriad plotholes and twists I had conjured only made my job that much harder, particularly my obsessive attention to historical details. I feel that I should just stop trying to pinpoint a time in Chinese history when this story actually takes place. Because China has over 5-6,000 years of recorded history…yeah, I'm just going to take poetic license for this chapter. All I can say is that I did my best. Anachronisms away! Woo!

For the record, this chapter nearly killed me. It took me three weeks to write because of a bought of writer's block. But enough of my self-pity…Read and review, please! I'll have barricaded myself into my Happy Place in the event of backlash from this chapter. You have been warned.

Disclaimer: Don't own it, but I own the OCs and the text below. No stealing or I will hunt you down 0:-)

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

Chapter 16

* * *

"Okay, spill," Viper said once she had Tigress alone. The serpent had decreed that, now that the feline's illness was past, that a medicinal bath was just the thing to cheer her and ensure a speedier recovery. The snake had joined her, only because she feared getting sick as well, because being cold-blooded in winter _sucked_.

So there they were in the bath house, the steam from the hot water rising, clearing their senses, and sweating out the leftover toxins. Tigress took the cool compress off her forehead and stared across at her friend, "What do you mean?"

"You and Po, what's up there?"

"Viper, what are you talking about?"

"Oh _come on_, I noticed the way you were looking at him this morning. Something happened, didn't it?"

"No! Not really…it was minor, really small," she assured when she was given a no-nonsense look. "Okay _fine_, maybe we sat up and talked for a while last night."

"Just talked?"

"Yes, just talked. I apologized for…"

"For being a bitch the past few days?" she finished bluntly.

"Yes," the feline replied, sounding slightly annoyed, "and when we trained for a little bit this morning and…well a few things came out." She paused, then looked to Viper. "Do I really come off as cold to you?"

"Sometimes, but that's hardly your fault," Viper said philosophically. "You're a very guarded person, someone who's had to keep her emotions in check; though if you ask me, bottling everything up will backfire." To her surprise, the feline sighed and agreed,

"You're right…and it's strange. Normally, I will bottle everything up. I can't go crying to anyone…probably my pride keeps me from doing it. With Po…pride doesn't matter. I really get the feeling that he _listens_, you know?"

She did; she asked, "What did you say to him?"

"I'm not really comfortable saying…no offense to you, but it was hard enough telling _one_ person."

Viper sighed and slithered from the bath to towel off. "Fine, don't tell me," she said, but it carried no hint of bitterness. She was used to Tigress being this way, why would she change after one night? But Viper paused and asked, "Do you like him?"

Tigress had to think of how best to answer it. Any answer given nonchalantly would give her the wrong idea, but…she had to be honest. "I think I'm starting to. I respected him before, because of his tenacity, but…I guess it's his soul, isn't it? He's just so accepting, and I don't need to pretend to be someone I'm not when I'm around him. And that's comforting. It's something I've needed for a long time. Why are you smiling like that?"

Viper truly was smiling, which at first, admittedly, had been more of a smirk. But she had never seen the feline so at peace. Not since they had started training together as children; by ten years of age, Tigress had already become as serious as a heart attack, and very little could get her to smile. But Viper had noticed it too, especially today…Po made her smile.

And that, she reasoned, was special.

Once Tigress was clean and dry, everyone settled into the kitchen—truly the warmest room in the bunkhouse—to pick up the sixteenth scroll. Tigress' hand reached first. When everyone else stared at her in mild surprise, she covered, "What? Everyone else here has narrated…it's my turn."

* * *

Getting an official summons from the Emperor himself is not something most people can brag. My family was already proud of me, and Yeying's family proud of her. Had we informed them of our plans to adopt, to expand our family, I'm sure their pride would never be surpassed. However, we had to put our lives on hold to serve our ruler.

However honored I was that the Emperor requested us by name, I was still rather annoyed. I wanted to have that family, and I wanted nothing more than to walk to Bao Gu with my wife and find that perfect little girl, or that rowdy little boy, take them home, feed, clothe and sing them to sleep at night. Somehow, oddly, in my imaginings I always saw our children as feline; you know what they say about hindsight.

Before we were to leave, Master Oogway lent us some weapons. I reprised my hold on the Sword of Heroes; Yeying was offered the Invisible Trident of Destiny, but she settled on a pudao wielded by one of the Tenshu Warriors. I have since been told that a woman wielding the weapon of a male martyr was sacrilege, especially if that martyr was a soldier from the Tenshu army. But to this day I swear I heard a whisper from the Urn of Whispering Warriors as Yeying picked up the pudao that had been on display beside it:

_Hold fast, Sister, hold fast_.

I asked her if she had heard anything; she claimed she didn't, but did mention an odd chill as she told hold of the weapon.

Before departing, our master offered one last round of sagely advice. He was as aware as the rest of us that Ren and Li had formed The Brotherhood of Heaven. He was aware that someone intended to do harm to the Emperor. He was also aware of my personal promise to Yeying.

"Rest assured, my friends," he said. "When you return, there will be a room waiting for your life's next greatest joy."

In our absence, he would put together a room for the child. All we had to do was swing by Bao Gu on the way home.

But he also gave us a warning, whispering as if the knowledge he was about to bestow was dangerous. I will never forget what he told us that day:

"Be forewarned, unspeakable evils reside in the Forbidden City, for nothing breeds evil faster than money and power. Alone, they breed vice. Together, they turn men into beasts, and corrupt angels into demons. I have raised you both to believe the best in people…but not there." He shook his head gravely. "Be prudent with whom you trust, and be diligent in what things you tell—never tell them anything personal, for they will use it against you.

"I have seen great emperors, I have seen bad emperors, and I have seen emperors that make me want to relocate to Mongolia—you are lucky that this one is one of the best I've seen in all my years. He is a dear friend, but all the same, because I can not make this journey with you, be careful what you say to him—while you are there, I can not protect you."

We took his advice very seriously. We had no idea how right he was.

* * *

Mortal eyes were not worthy to gaze upon what lay inside the Imperial Palace, and yet we, the five of us, friends since early childhood, would be blessed with laying eyes upon not _just_ the interior of the most important political and holy place in our world…but also upon the most holy person, the Emperor _himself_! And truly the home he lived in—"palace" was too tame a term to describe it—was worthy of the magnificence of his rank. The vermillion red walls, I wagered, were nearly as thick as they were high, and the gates made of wood so thick, the tree to make it had to have been ancient indeed. The gables were higher than even the Jade Palace's, but I swore I saw similarities in the style of architecture…and I wondered, whether it was the Jade Palace modeled after the Imperial Palace, or the other way around?

Finding our way was quite difficult in the crowd. I was struck by how few women I saw. The ones I did see were being carried in sedan chairs by barefooted attendants, and their servant girls trailing behind them on foot. These ladies—even the servants—were exquisitely dressed, and I noticed with some consternation that my wife appeared to feel inadequate, picking at her sleeve uncomfortably.

I grasped her hand and kissed it, whispering to her, "I don't care how exquisitely they dress—you are a glorious phoenix amongst wretched crows."

"I've never seen anything like this before," she confessed, her tone betraying her reticence.

"In case you haven't noticed," I said, rolling up my sleeve and giving her a roguish wink, "It appears you're married to a common beggar compared to many of these men."

"Beggar, or village idiot?"

"Quiet you."

She giggled.

When we finally reached our destination, we had to stand back in awe.

In his letters, Dong Li had said Ren's tea shop and apothecary was quite popular…and he wasn't kidding. A boisterous line went out the door and around the corner. As it turned out, what we saw were servants collecting remedies for their masters; the tea shop was around the other side.

Ren certainly spared nothing on décor, if the cedar tables were any indication, with jade chandeliers overtop each one. Beeswax candles let off a warm glow, and the murals of lily ponds and lakes upon the walls instantly put one at peace. We had arrived on a slow night, as Li had called them, but you wouldn't have believed it if you could see the place. It was packed, and as many people were fitted to a table as possible.

The richer clientele snubbed us as we moved to the front of the line, one gentleman (and I use the term loosely) threatening to cane my wife for talking back to him. Yeying, naturally, ensured that he learned his lesson.

The commotion brought out a very familiar and very welcome face. Ren laughed loudly, grabbing Yeying before she could finish what she started on the simpering simian, "Haha, I thought that was you! Only one person I know who can throw a punch that echoes for the next five blocks!"

I wisely bit my lip to keep from laughing, and bowed, "Jian Ren, we're very sorry for the commotion…" he surprised me by sweeping me up into a hug.

"C'mon, Shifu, there're no more formalities between us! You are my 'brother-in-law', after all. Come on in, let me get you a table—gentlemen," he called back to those waiting in line, "Filial duty—family comes first, remember that…by the way, Commissioner Tang…why aren't _you_ at home tonight?"

"Are you sure you're allowed to do that?" I hissed as he led us to the back. The Commissioner, a dog, was giving Ren an odd look.

"Don't worry, he knows me," he replied cryptically. He pushed us through two swinging doors into the kitchen of the place, which, though small, was a hum of activity. Five workers—and clearly, former soldiers—were mixing ingredients, measuring and brewing teas for their clients, the crocodile, another wolf, a lizard, boar and gorilla, carefully and painstakingly working as if performing surgery. The gorilla surprised me the most, rolling tiny green tea leaves into what he called "Chrysanthemum Tea"…a marvelous work of art that literally blossomed like the drink's namesake as it steeped. How he was able to do such a delicate act with such large, cumbersome fingers was a marvel.

There was a rabbit and a musk ox over in the corner with four or five abaci between them; the rabbit's ears twitched as she—for Ren was an equal-opportunity employer—dashed the abacus beads across the twine and made calculations in her head, muttering them to the musk ox, who recorded them in a ledger. A common garden snake was counting the money and throwing tips into jars for the respective wait staff. Further down, in the kitchen annex, was a bakery, where tea cakes and various other treats and sweets were being baked by one very familiar vulpine.

"Li!" I shouted, grinning widely.

He was almost unrecognizable, up to his elbows in flour, little bits of dough dried to his fur in patches. He didn't even bother to clean himself up as he hugged me, caking me with flour as well. "Hey stranger! How was the journey?"

"It was fair…waitaminute," I looked at him. "Wow…Li, you look _great_."

"Really?" Oh, it was an understatement. He had gained muscle, but not enough to look ridiculous on his small frame. He looked healthier than I had ever seen him—Yeying surmised it was the daily tea regimen he adhered to; he would outlive us all at that rate.

"Yeah, I mean… you are in _great_ shape…"

"Easy, tiger," Ren teased, "That's _my_ man you're ogling."

"With a body like that," Yeying said appreciatively, "Can you blame him?"

The wolf laughed, "Oh, _hell_ no!"

Li blushed modestly, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand, only smearing more flour there. "Yeah, well…you guys are just in time, I was about to pull something together for dinner. You guys don't mind? We have an extra room for you to stay in…"

"I know, you said so in your last letter," I said. "But since when have you been a baker?"

"Actually, I'm really good at making noodles and congee. I needed to pick up _some_ kind of hobby, as it's not like I can practice kung fu with so little space," he said, not bothering to hide his disdain at the close quarters of urban development. "I miss the Jade Palace, it was a lot more open. But I don't think I could be anywhere else," he smiled warmly at his partner, who winked in return. "But," my fox friend continued, "I picked up baking from one of the old-timers who retired when Ren got his discharge. He's a _great_ teacher, and a better cook."

"Where's Master Qiang?" my wife asked.

Li thumbed up the stairs behind him, "Either he's taking a nap or in the forge. He's come down with something lately, so we're being extra cautious."

"Forge?"

"Yeah. He needed a hobby, and it makes him happy."

"Good for him. How is his…condition?" I asked diplomatically. Ren nodded in understanding. "My establishment doesn't serve alcohol, we don't cook with it, or preserve anything with it. Completely dry. Mohinder's been great about Dad's treatment…"

"Mohinder?" I asked, slowly rolling the strange name off my tongue.

"Oh! That's right, I should introduce you…"

Li took our bags. "I'll throw these up in your room. Ochir arrived last night, he's over with Mo right now." He whispered to us, "I hardly recognized him. People seem to know who he is by reputation—he looks every inch 'Master Flying Rhino'."

And he wasn't kidding.

Ochir carried himself like a soldier, as he always had, but there was a distinct sharpness in his eye as if he studied every person he saw, measuring them up, eyeing each one as if he expected them to attack. Given his experiences on the trail, I hardly blamed his suspicious turn. What surprised us the most was what was on display beside him in his room.

It was plans for battle armor. He had drawn up his ideas, listed conditions based on durability and freedom of movement. As he poured over the parchments, brainstorming, I saw the look of intense concentration on his face, but he looked strangely distracted. No doubt Ren updating him on the intelligence "The Brotherhood" collected had only added to that distraction. But as soon as he saw us, he grinned and gave us the bone-crunching hug that he was well known for.

"Holy hell, you two look great! You gotta tell me your secret," he boomed in that thunderous voice of his.

"Training," I smirked.

"Smart ass."

"I am that…cretin."

We shared a laugh, clapping each other on the back. I punched his arm, "You should've visited more often!"

"I know, but I've been busy," he started ticking off his list on his hooves. "Had to quell a rebellion in Kaifeng, then this army from the south raised up a scare in Yunnan, and I had to go to the Manchurian border to help Shan…I've been all over the place."

"Where _is_ Shan, by the way?"

"Didn't you know? He's one of the Emperor's bodyguards now."

Our jaws dropped. "Are you serious?" Yeying asked.

"Serious as a heart attack. He _loves_ it. I ran into him when I arrived yesterday. He's never looked better, loves his job—couldn't get him to shut up about it—and word on the street is that the Emperor has never felt safer."

"That's wonderful!" she said. "I heard about him and Min Lung…"

"Oh, did you?" his tone betrayed something, something we didn't like. "How long ago did you hear?"

"Hear what?" Yeying asked. "Last we heard, they were soon to be engaged."

"Oh hell," he groaned, running a hand down his face.

"Ochir, what happened?" I asked worriedly.

"She turned him down."

"_What_?" That couldn't be possible. I swore up and down that she loved him as he loved her. "Why?"

"Beats the hell outta me. Shan was pretty silent on the matter—far as I know, they haven't spoken for a year."

He was interrupted by someone rounding the corner. Yeying and I gasped and took a few steps back in alarm. Whoever said snakes could only get so big…well, they obviously had never met an Indian King Cobra. He was easily six to seven feet long, a hood that extended a foot in length, and visible fangs that had to be _at least_ five inches long. His sharp eyes were dark as jet, and austere, but we received the greatest shock when Ren introduced…

"Guys, this is Mohinder, the colleague I told you about. He was my regiment's surgeon and doctor, and his remedies could cure anything. Mohinder, this is Shifu and Yeying…"

_This_ was a doctor?! He looked more ready to administer powerful venom in attack than to heal someone…but sure enough, the massive snake slithered up a stool and began measuring medicinal herbs. When he spoke, it was heavily accented, but…refined. "Ochir, here are your antibiotics, for that wound. It looks quite terrible, very terrible indeed; those weasels did a number on you, did they not? I do not know why you are looking at me that way," he said to us, glancing at my wife and I from the corner of his dark eyes. "I do not bite."

"Bullshit," Yeying told him.

His tight-lipped smile was the only indication of his amusement at the rebuttal. My initial assessment of this serpent was that, poor bedside manner aside…he was easily the best doctor I have ever known. His ability to diagnose and cure a patient had earned him the honor of being nominated for Imperial Physician…a position he turned down, partly because of his own humility, but mostly because he loathed the idea of being someone's slave. He much preferred serving the people, who he felt needed it much more than the Emperor…but that didn't mean he didn't do commissions on the side.

Afterwards, we retired to the dining area, where an addition had been modeled to seat all of Ren's employees—twenty in all—for their meals. Once I got to see everyone he oversaw, it was clear these were for the most part comrades who had resigned when he did. Some had nervous ticks no doubt a result of whatever horrors they had faced, others were stone-faced, while others, like Li, were the life of the party. Ren was quiet, as he had always been, but genuinely cared for each man and woman as if they were family. A sentiment that, once we saw Master Qiang, was shared by our friend's father.

Ren had made good on his promise after all, by affording his father more "children". Qiang treated every one of those employees as his own flesh and blood, earning him the moniker "Uncle Qiang", though some more audacious employees called him "Dad". Not all twenty lived in the house—only five, including Ren and Li, lived in the upstairs apartments: Mohinder, the lapin female accountant, and the gorilla I saw rolling tea leaves.

All twenty, as it turned out, made up The Brotherhood and secret task force.

Later that night, once the shop was closed and the rest of the employees left for their homes and families, Ren gathered the rest of us in the cellar, locked the doors and covered the windows. By the light of three candles, he took out his plans, notes, and other important documents from a hidden space inside a wall. Li brought out correspondence from people who worked inside the Imperial Palace, and Mohinder double-checked that there was no one to eavesdrop. Once everything was considered, we settled at the table and Ren filled us in on the recent developments.

"Borte's been keeping an eye on the Emperor for some time. His health is failing, and rapidly, which leads me to suspect someone's poisoning him."

Murmurs went around the table. Mohinder had an herbal catalogue open in front of him, his tail tip scanning each of any variety of poisons to determine the crucial ingredient. "It is unlikely he is being fed it—if his taste-testers have not fallen ill, it is my guess that the poison is going into his medicine."

"He takes medicine?" Yeying asked.

"He is slightly anemic, not horribly, but it is treatable," the cobra explained. "But I do not trust the physician he has now—not a trustworthy man, no, not at all."

"Borte's of the same mind," Ren nodded. "He's easily bought out."

"Bastard," Li sniffed, "Like he doesn't make enough already to live like a king!"

"Do we know who's behind the plot?" Ochir asked.

"I hate to admit it," the female hare said. "But I have strong reasons to suspect one of the Emperor's consorts."

"What would they have to gain, though?" Yeying asked. "To have one of their sons succeed the throne?"

"Hardly," the croc scoffed. "Once an emperor dies, all his consorts are 'retired' and most are sent to convents to remain celibate the rest of their lives; marrying another man is tantamount to adultery, and they can be executed for it. Only the Dowager Empress is allowed to remain in the palace. If a consort _is_ part of the plot, it's likely she either has a death wish, or wants to avoid that fate."

"Yeah, well, you know what they say about Hell and scorned women," Qiang said despondently, nursing his second cup of tea. Yeying and I shared a significant look, and decided to discuss it later.

A quick succession of raps came to the locked and bolted door. The gorilla got up to see who it was, while the rest of the room was silent as a crypt. After a tense moment, the gorilla called through the door, "Two phoenixes in flight."

"We are a pair of mandarin ducks," came the answer from the outside.

"It's the Commissioner, let him in!" Ren said. The door was thrown open, and I was amazed to find the patron from earlier that evening. Commissioner Tang rushed in, looking nothing like the impressive courtier we had seen. He was dressed as a common laborer, the dog shedding the rough homespun cloak and dropping a sack onto the table, "I have urgent news! We have proof that one of the consorts is in on the plan, and that it is to follow through, tonight!"

"What?" Ren gaped.

"How?" Qiang wondered.

"My wife meets with the consorts for tea—here's the proof," he pulled out pieces of embroidery, the same thing over and over again. Embroidered birds on various pieces of cloth, surrounded by…

"_Nu shu_!" Yeying gasped.

"Nu what?"

My wife made a face at all of the men. I was quickly reminded that _nu shu_ was a woman's script, and that most men either didn't bother to know it, or had no clue it even existed. Commissioner Tang, who took off the head kerchief to wipe at his brow, only nodded, "Thank goodness _someone_ knows what it is. My wife told me their plot is detailed here. Can you read it?"

"I'm fluent," she replied, "Spread them out on the table, I'll see what I can get from it. Could someone get me some paper and ink?"

We rushed to meet with her demands, smoothing out the embroidered pieces so she could read them. The female hare stood over Yeying's shoulder, curious about the secret script, asking many questions about it. Mohinder, who, as a doctor, was naturally curious, was fascinated by the code, turning his head left, right, and upside down to decipher it. But when I looked over at Li, I could see the gears turning in his head, and a brilliant plan forming…

Soon Yeying was writing down notes in men's script, translating into common language, but even then most of the notes were confusing for us males. Most of the language of _nu shu_ revolves around the "inner realm" of women, such as cooking, cleaning, chores, children, and issues of the home; the "outer realm" was the realm of men, which concerned politics, business and war. Many of the sayings that were constantly repeated in the embroidery were traditional for _nu shu_…and completely foreign for the rest of us. All told, the translations my wife made read almost like poetry.

_The dragon flies over the phoenix. Why can the phoenix not fly higher?_

_I was married to a mandarin duck; he was a hawk in disguise._

_Submissive and soft as a lamb, but the ewe is just as strong as the ram._

"What the hell…?" Qiang asked with narrowed eyes.

"Aw man, I _hate_ poetry," Ochir muttered.

Yeying snapped, "Its not poetry, you blockheads! Shut up and listen; the proof is there!"

"Where?"

She rolled her blue eyes and pointed at a piece of embroidery with a brilliantly-colored phoenix flying underneath a golden five-clawed dragon. "_The dragon flies over the phoenix. Why can the phoenix not fly higher?_ Don't you get it? The dragon is male. The phoenix is female. The Men have always 'flown' higher than the Women."

Looking over the pieces of embroidery, I noticed something else as she continued her observations.

"Birds…they're all birds."

Yeying's attention snapped back to the needlework on the table, and I watched her eyes widen. She was visibly thinking of scenarios, trying to put things together. "Exactly. All these women are saying they want to break free. Notice none of these birds are idle? They're all in flight."

"But where's the proof they're going to attack?"

"Here," Yeying said. Then her face visibly paled. "Great ancestors…"

"What? What?" I asked.

Suddenly her pale face turned red with rage. "There's a traitor in our midst."

"A traitor?"

She looked me in the eye. "Shan."

* * *

The stunned silence took us all, dragging us down and holding us prisoner. I couldn't believe it…I refused to believe it. So did Ochir.

"Impossible," he scoffed, shaking his head. "He has no reason…why would he hate the Emperor? What reason does he have? Are you sure you're reading that right?"

"Ochir, he's mentioned by name!" Yeying snapped. "Right there, it's the only men's script in the entire collection." Sure enough, when we looked, it was an italicized form of Shan's full name: _Teacher Snow Mountain_. Master Xue Shan.

"But that's no indication! What if he's one of their targets? He's the Emperor's bodyguard. There has to be some mistake."

Li's jaw was set, then he suddenly growled. "I knew it…I knew, from the moment I met him…"

I whirled on him. "You can't honestly believe that Shan would betray us!"

"Shifu, don't you get it?!" he argued. "Ever since he was still Zigsa, he has been in pursuit of justice for oppressed people!"

"The Emperor didn't suppress anyone!" I snapped.

"Yes he did," Qiang said sullenly. "Years ago, when you were too young to know about it. There was an uprising in the snow leopard clans to the west, and in the south near Tibet. The Emperor sent a delegation that quashed the rebellion, killed thousands, men, women and children. It drove the remaining clans underground—literally. To this day, I don't think the Emperor really trusts anyone."

"Then why hire Shan? If he's so suspicious of snow leopards, why hire one of them who might do him harm?"

"Perhaps he believes that since Shan's clan was completely decimated by plague, he has no reason to hate the Emperor, I don't know," Qiang said.

"We need to move, tonight," Li said. "If Shan really is a part of the plot, he's not going to wait much longer."

"But he's worked as a bodyguard for a year," Ochir said angrily. "If he really intended to do harm…"

"Do you deny that he's patient?!" Li snapped viciously at him. "I can't believe you all—his morals have always been questionable."

"He's sworn off fighting!"

"Since when? You fought by his side for years—did you not see his savagery?"

"That was in defense of the defenseless. Or have you forgotten I've done things I'm not proud of either?!" Ochir roared, rising in rage. His nostrils flared and he grunted animalistically—I knew he was likely to attack if provoked further.

Ren finally stepped in between them, "Knock it off! If the coup is to happen tonight, we need to move."

"But trespassing on the palace?" Mohinder asked, always the voice of reason. "What if we're wrong?"

"What if we're right?" Yeying asked. "It has to be tonight. Send in the ones who are best at stealth. We'll sneak in, find out what's going on, and if the coup is truly going to happen…we'll send a signal to the others."

"Then you need to move quickly," Qiang said, noting the late hour. "The witching hour is at hand, and we all know the worst evils happen in the dead of night…"

With that, Ren blew out the candles, the silent signal to prepare for war.

* * *

I will forever be amazed at the solitude and silence of deserted city streets in the middle of the night. The ones selected to infiltrate the palace were Li, Yeying and myself. Ren and the rest of the Brotherhood were rallying to meet at designated points around the palace, awaiting a signal flare to announce if the coup were indeed happening. If it were, it would begin at midnight.

The three of us skulked through the shadows, our blades and other weapons wrapped in gauze to prevent light reflecting off of them and giving us away. We were mostly silent the whole way to the gates. Li, who had spent most nights staking out the grounds, knew the schedule of the changing of the guard by heart. We were soon to arrive at that crucial point, sneak in, and discover what we could.

Ren informed us that if there was a coup, we were to set off three signal flares. If there was no coup, and we were wrong, I was to use the Sword of Heroes as a mirror to reflect the moonlight with a series of light signals.

In all, between the changing of the guard, we had five minutes to slip into the palace. Li had very little time to show us a map of the grounds. Yeying and I were to go to the Empress' quarters; Li would attend to the ministers and generals to see if the coup was military, as he believed.

As we hid in the shadows of the massive vermillion walls, I heard my wife sigh. "Something wrong?" I asked in hushed tones.

"I'm wondering how you feel about all of this," she said quietly.

"Nervous, worried…as I'm sure you are."

"I am. I wonder if we'll be good enough, or if we'll fail…"

"Yeying, we won't fail. Whatever it is we're facing, I'm sure we can handle it…"

"Shifu, I was talking about becoming parents."

"Oh." We shared an awkward silence. "I am worried about being a parent too," I assured her.

She sighed, "No, its okay, I get it. This is just how you are."

"What do you mean?"

"You always do this," she said with frustration. "Focus on a single task, one at a time…once you've got your mind set on something, its impossible to get you to think of something else."

"Well I'm _sorry_ I'm putting my work _first_ right now," I said. I regret that it sounded so harsh.

"Is this how you're going to be when we have kids?" she accused. "Is it always going to be work first, family later?"

"Why would you think that? Yeying, I just happen to be a _little_ nervous about this possible assassination from within the Emperor's inner circle! Our ruler is depending on me to protect him."

"Us, Shifu, he's depending on _us_, and do you think I'm _not_ nervous?"

"If you're nervous, then don't take it out on me!"

"You're taking it out on me too!" she hissed.

We glared at each other for a long moment, willing ourselves to calm down. Finally, she sighed and turned away from me.

"You're upset," I said.

"No, whatever gives you that idea?" she asked coldly.

"Yeying…" I hugged her from behind. "I'm not just nervous about the Emperor—I'm terrified. I'm terrified I'll fail him, and in doing so, lose you. After this is over, I'm terrified of adopting…what if I screw the kid up so much there's no hope? What if I make the same mistakes my parents made…"

"What mistakes? Shifu, you were raised by Master Oogway, and as for your parents, your brothers turned out alright…"

"I'm worried I won't do a good job."

She finally turned to look at me. I remember every detail of that moment. She was dressed in navy blue robes, her eyes shining in the light of the full moon. Though mindful of the task ahead of us, I was struck by how beautiful she looked. Her _pudao_ was strapped across her shoulders, but I could still see a slight glint of the blade in nearby lantern light. If only I knew she was the last beautiful thing I would see that night…

"Shifu," she said firmly, still whispering. "You will make a _great_ father. Do you want to know how I know?" she waited until I nodded, taking my hands, "I have seen how you are with your students, how you train them, discipline them, dare them to be the best they can be. They might resent you at first, but if not for you, they wouldn't be the great warriors they are today. You'll be a fantastic father, because even though you can be harsh sometimes, you still love those children, and would do anything to make them see their true potential. You love them, and you would do anything to help them _reach_ that potential. A mother is someone who's supposed to be tender and sweet…"

"You won't be," I smirked.

"Oh hell no, if the little punk messes up, he's cutting his own switch for me to use!" she grinned wickedly. "And if that little girl wants to be a brat, oh, she'll get hers too!"

"How will you discipline her?"

"Embroidery."

I chuckled softly. Nearby, Li gave the signal, hissing, "Now isn't the _best_ time to be having marital issues, can we talk about this when we get back? We have work to do." We spotted a tree by the wall, which we scaled easily. Li needed a little help, but once we got to the wall top, we saw we were just in time.

"You and Yeying head to the Empress' chambers. I'll go warn the General about the attack," he whispered.

"What about the Emperor?" I asked.

"He's got Shan there," Li said. "And we all know how dedicated Shan is to his work."

* * *

What Li failed to mention was that the Imperial Palace was a veritable rabbit's warren of hallways and halls, paths through impressive gardens we had no time to appreciate, and even a few secret passages. Yeying and I had great difficulty following Li's directions to the Empress' chambers. I wondered why the empress did not share chambers with her husband; it didn't occur to me that the Emperor had as many as one hundred concubines to choose from. All the most beautiful women in China were a part of his harem, and most never even got within fifty feet of him. Not that they necessarily wanted to.

I heard stories about the way most of them were treated in the past. The Emperor's father was unfortunately a very cruel one. One of his consorts gave him three girls, and was thus shunned, essentially exiled to her chambers. When he favored the sons of a lesser concubine, the scorned consort insulted that emperor, demanding if he even knew the names of his daughters. Incensed, he ordered the consort to commit suicide by hanging herself with a white scarf; it was an honorable death, apparently, at least when compared to decapitation.

The current Emperor, however, was the only son who survived to adulthood. Fortunately, he was the gentlest of nature, of fair mind and even fairer convictions. He had witnessed firsthand the treatment of his half-sisters and resolved to make their lives better. Some of them became advisors, others record-keepers, one was his treasurer. This naturally made him less than popular among his more traditional courtiers.

His Empress, on the other hand, was apparently a very bitter woman. Unintentionally, I assume, the Emperor had scorned her daughters…but with good reason. Those girls were spoiled rotten, and no good for any kind of work as they felt it was beneath them. Daughters of lesser consorts got the higher ranks in the palace, while these girls were shunned for their idleness.

Again, I didn't learn any of this until later.

Much to our luck, we spotted the Empress' personal attendants on their way to their mistress' quarters; we followed them, keeping to the shadows. Once we approached, we kept our distance and waited for the Empress to (rudely) dismiss the girls, who left hurriedly to escape the "old dragon's" wrath. Once alone, Yeying gave me a signal and we slipped into the inner sanctum.

We were taken aback by the splendor. We had never seen so much gold in our lives. The walls were inlaid with gold, painted in gold, with precious stones embedded in glorious mosaics. Our feet sank into plush carpets from faraway countries, but it cushioned our steps, making our already silent approach that much stealthier.

The Empress' canopied bed lay in front of us, and we caught a glimpse of her through a crimson veiled curtain. We stopped to eavesdrop; she was not alone.

"Everything is prepared for the Moon Festival?"

"Yes, your Ladyship, everything. The ingredient you ordered for his medicine has been in his daily dosage for the past ten days."

"As it should be. A pity he is close to death's door…" she said, with no hint of sorrow. She seemed rather happy for it. "And what of his guard? The snow leopard?"

"He won't be a problem. Taking him out will be the hardest part of the plot."

I glanced to Yeying; she was as pale as I probably was. My heart sank to my stomach, then leapt to my throat. Shan was going to be killed!

"How will he be dispatched?" the Empress asked.

"Should the poison fail—which it shouldn't—we will ambush him."

"Don't bother. A slit throat in the courtyard will suffice."

"The courtyard, madam?"

"Apparently blood is rather difficult to lift from carpet," she sniffed, "And I've always rather admired the one in my _dear husband's_ quarters."

Yeying gritted her teeth and finally made her move, swiping her _pudao_ and felling the assassin with one blow. The black-clad masked mercenary fell, dead, and Yeying twirled her weapon and held it at the Empress' throat. The aged tigress opened her mouth to call for guards but my wife pressed the sharp blade against her throat.

"I wouldn't try it," she growled. "One swipe, and your plot dies with you."

"Is that what you think?" the old woman chortled. I know its bad to speak ill of the dead, but I have never felt any fondness for her. She must have been very beautiful in her youth, but her face was in horrible shape, likely from the lead- and mercury-based cosmetics meant to keep her young. Her eyes were watery and yet cold as she curled her lip in disdain at my wife, though her fury was nothing compared to ours. We were supposed to protect her, and she—as Yeying suspected—was behind the plot.

"So I was right—I knew I wasn't reading the _nu shu_ wrong."

"Good lord, you mean to tell me _peasants_ are learning it now?" the queen sniffed.

"Watch who you're calling a peasant," I growled, drawing my sword. "We've known about the coup for some time, and now, its over."

The queen smiled, smirked wickedly, then cackled. "You think so? Oh no, Master Shifu…it has just begun. You are much too late. As we speak, my assassins are dispatching my husband and his pet, Master Xue Shan."

"What do you have against him?" I demanded. I meant Shan; she thought I meant the Emperor. She stood, her golden robes hanging off her too-thin frame, looking down upon me disdainfully.

"What have I against him? Have you any idea what he has done to me? I doubt this woman—Master Yeying, was it?—knows the pain I went through. How would you feel," she implored of my wife, "if your husband suddenly brought concubines into your marriage?"

"He wouldn't do that," Yeying said, still holding the _pudao_ at the queen's throat. I was amazed that she didn't waver, despite her obviously treasonous act towards the queen. "My husband loves me."

"So he says. So all husbands say. But when that first wrinkle shows, my dear, forget it, he wants them young and beautiful, always fresh meat. You may only have two women to compete with in your entire life, one if you're lucky—I compete with five hundred! And my daughters, what have they to gain? I gave my husband three beautiful princesses and a Crown Prince and how does he thank me? By spurning _my_ daughters," she raised her voice, taking bold steps forward, "_and_ my son," and another step, "and giving the throne to an illegitimate _bastard_ of a fifteen-year-old _whore_!" she finally shrieked.

"But no more, never again," she resolved. "Are you so curious as to my intentions? Master Yeying, surely you have felt the sting of men's utter disregard for our sex. Surely you know what we suffer every day of our lives…"

"Don't patronize me," my wife growled. "My husband knows as well as I do—"

"Does he?"

For a moment I swore I saw a flicker of doubt, but then it was gone. But that moment was all the Empress needed. She tore a hairpin from her hair and stabbed it into my wife's shoulder, taking her completely by surprise. I reacted too late, running to Yeying, halted only by one more extraordinary event.

The queen froze, looking down in amazement at the spear that now protruded through her middle. Behind her, someone dressed in black and red whispered in her ear, "This is the only thing traitors deserve. Consider yourself lucky that this is _all_ I did to you."

With a hearty pull, Shan tore the spear from the Empress' quickly dying body and unceremoniously dropped her to the floor. He looked nothing like the snow leopard I had last seen ten years ago. He had bulked up, his muscles plainly evident beneath his black uniform with red trim; a symbolic four-clawed dragon was embroidered in red on the front of his shirt, and the wrappings around his wrists and ankles were also blood-red. He now sported a mustache and goatee, which gave him a rather more intimidating look than his smooth façade of yesteryears. He felt around blindly, finally placing his hand on my head and running his fingers over my ears. "Shifu?"

"Shan, thank the gods!" Yeying gasped, slowly pulling the hairpin out of her shoulder. He placed his hand on her shoulder, "Are you alright?"

"I'll live," she said, tearing off her sleeve to wrap around the wound. "How did you survive the attack?"

"They almost got me with the poison," he admitted. "Lucky for me I spent the last ten years building up an immunity to most poisons—they didn't know that. They tried sneaking up on me afterwards, but I got 'em."

"You _are_ a lucky son of a bitch," I shook my head in wonder. "How is the Emperor?"

The stricken look on his face was the only answer we needed, but he clarified, "I was too late…he's dead."

* * *

Yeying was glaring at him, her tone even, "The Emperor is dead?"

Shan nodded. "Murdered in his sleep. They tried to take both of us out at the same time—they saw me as the bigger threat…"

"You mean to tell me you left him _alone?_" she snapped.

"I didn't know about the coup! I didn't know about any of this!"

"Didn't Ren keep you posted on this?" I asked.

"Ren? What does Ren have to do…" he trailed off, stunned, then his face contorted into an ugly expression of rage. "You mean to tell me he _knew_ about this, and didn't tell me?!"

"We didn't trust you." He turned his face to the doorway where Li stood, glaring at the snow leopard. "I have never trusted you, and my partner trusts my judgment."

"Li…" Yeying hissed.

"No! He needs to hear this, and so do you! I just came from the General's quarters—he's dead. The General, his entire family, his brothers…all the males, right down to his six-year-old grandson. And who do you think is responsible?"

He had to be lying, he had to be out of his mind. That was what I was thinking…until Shan chuckled.

"Alright, you caught me. How did you figure it out?"

Li growled, baring his fangs as he stepped forward, "The claw marks and the eviscerated corpses were good enough indication. And poison _my ass_," he snarled at the snow cat. "I saw the Emperor—I saw what you did. You snuck into his room, while he slept, and tore out his throat. The last thing he saw was you holding up your bloody claws."

"You can't pin that on me—any cat could have done that. There are _thousands_ of them in this palace," Shan growled.

"Show me your claws," Li demanded. "Prove your innocence."

"I don't have to explain myself to you…"

I was willing to believe Shan up until that point. I knew that an innocent man would immediately try to prove his innocence. Shan didn't, he hesitated, defended himself. I thought I should feel sick, but I felt rage building up instead, and utter devastating betrayal.

Li drew an arrow from his quiver, notched it to his bow and pulled back on the twine, aiming right for Shan's heart. "Show them! Or I swear to the gods I will fire!"

"You don't have the nerve!" Shan mocked.

"Shan," my wife said sternly, silencing the room. Her tone betrayed in no uncertain terms that she was to be obeyed. "Show. Your. Claws. _Now_," she added when he hesitated. Slowly, sending a glare in Li's direction, he held his claws up, unsheathing them…

…to reveal dried blood, and I realized when reality set in with a sickening thud that the red bindings around his wrists and ankles had originally been white.

I was frozen to the spot, refusing to believe it, but then I reacted, pouncing and hurling the cat to the ground. Shan was too stunned to react, gasping as he felt the blade of the Sword of Heroes nicking the skin under his chin. I was far past fury, far past rage…there was not a single word or simple phrase to express what I was feeling.

"You bastard," I seethed. "You _fucking_ son of a bitch! How could you? What the hell is wrong with you?! Admit it—confess! You were in on the Empress' plot!"

"Why the hell would I ally myself with that rotten piece of flesh? I feel for her plight and the plight of women all across China—Yeying 'opened my eyes', if you will."

She yelled. "Don't you _dare_ drag me into this!"

"I'm not," he assured her. "In fact, I'm doing you a favor. The man who is to inherit the throne will continue the late Emperor's legacy…he will take revenge for all the wrongs done to my people."

I suddenly remembered Qiang's words from earlier that night. _There was an uprising in the snow leopard clans to the west, and in the south near Tibet. The Emperor sent a delegation that quashed the rebellion, killed thousands, men, women and children…_ _Perhaps he believes that since Shan's clan was completely decimated by plague, he has no reason to hate the Emperor_.

But he did. He had never really changed. None of the time he spent with us meant anything. He had held on to his warped idea of justice by the sword, of an eye for an eye. He had killed men, women and children—the Emperor's entire family—in vengeance for a people he had never known. His family had died of plague, and he had never been faced with the specism that prevailed.

"So Li, it turns out you were right about me…and that I was wrong about you," he smirked. "I expected you to be happy."

"Happy? You want us to be proud of you, of what you did?!" I roared, pressing the blade against his throat. "I should kill you right here, murderer!"

"Go for it, we both know you don't have the nerve," he said. He was baiting me…and I waited too long. He acted quickly, punching me in the chest and propelling me back into the wall. Li finally fired his arrow, hitting the snow leopard in the thigh and causing him to buckle. Yeying came to my defense, guarding me while I struggled to catch my breath. "Are you alright, honey?"

I coughed, "I will be—what are we going to do?"

"What else can we do?" she asked. She looked at Shan sorrowfully for a moment, then her face hardened with determination. "We have to take him down—"

She was interrupted by a roar from outside and the smashing of the giant gates to the palace. Our backup had arrived.

Shan growled, then roared, charging at Li. Li crouched low and then jumped up, kicking the snow leopard in the face, then catching him by the collar and throwing him over his shoulder. Shan hit the ground hard, but hurled himself up to his feet, striking out and kicking Li's feet from under him. Li fell and Yeying jumped in to defend him. I was still winded, but slowly gaining my strength back. Outside, the battle cries of the warring armies roared, echoing off the palace walls.

Our backup had arrived too late. The Emperor was dead, the Empress was dead, the Emperor's entire family was dead. The dynasty had come to a bloody end, and someone we had trusted with our lives was responsible. And for what? Revenge, revenge by cold-blooded murder of innocent people. I felt the rage building in me. I had been right to doubt him all those years ago. There _had_ been more to what he was telling us. He had lied, lied through his teeth, lied about everything. He claimed to do things he wasn't proud of…but he was. He had killed Huns; had he also killed children then, and women too? And he was proud of himself; he was proud he did it.

The killing of children was what did it for me. It wasn't just the principle, it was what it represented. If he could kill _those_ children so easily…he would have no problem killing any child of mine.

I had no choice. I had to kill him. I had to kill him to save my family. The lives of my wife and our future children were on the line. I had never killed before…but I was prepared to do it now.

I yelled and charged, swiping the Sword of Heroes at his middle, opening up the tunic and slicing him open. Blood spurted from the wound, and he doubled over, clutching his stomach.

"Get out of here!" I yelled at Yeying and Li. "They need you outside!"

"Shifu, he'll kill you!" Li shouted.

"GET OUT THERE!" I shouted back. "Ren needs you, now GO!"

Faced with the possibility of losing the one he loved, Li raced to the window and leaped, scaling down and landing amid the fray below and hurling himself into combat.

Yeying came to my defense, barring Shan's way as he grabbed onto the staff of the _pudao_. Though seriously wounded, he was just as ferocious as ever. Yeying hissed and yanked the staff out of his grip and knocked him in the head with the blunt end. She rushed to my side, grasping my hand and kissed me deeply one last time.

"Don't you dare die on me," she demanded.

"I'll come back to you, I promise." I kissed her back, as long as I dared. "Be careful."

"I always am, my love." With that, she rushed to the same window and launched herself out, grabbing onto the eave and somersaulting her way down. I heard her battle cry, then set to work on my own battle.

Shan was crouching low to the ground, his fingertips sensing my movements. I crouched into a low stance, the Sword of Heroes poised over my head. We were sizing each other up, and I needed to end this quickly.

"So what was the catalyst?" I asked. "What convinced you?"

"What, to assassinate the Emperor?" he asked casually, as if we were having a decent conversation.

"You had everything going for you, Shan. You had a good job, a woman who loved you…what happened?"

"What happened…what happened?!" he snarled. "I'll tell you what happened! Tai Lee is what happened! Min Lung refused me because of _him_. I knew I should have brought her here sooner, I knew I should have married her when I had the chance—she left me for _him_."

"But she loved you."

"Bullshit! She didn't love me…she turned me down because—get this—'you wasn't the man I fell in love with'. I didn't change, she did. She was just as shallow as every other woman…couldn't stand to be with a blind man, so she went with someone beneath her! Oh, but her mother was _thrilled_, and wouldn't let me forget it. She always hated me, and is glad to have Tai Lee for a son-in-law! I could stomach it if she had waited, but no, as soon as she turned me down, she returned home and _immediately_ married the son of a bitch!"

I gaped at him, "You killed off an entire clan to impress a woman?" as the shock wore off, I shook my head at him. "She was right…you aren't the man you used to be."

"I am _twice_ the man I used to be!" he snapped, charging me. I jumped up and over his head, swiping the sword at him. He fell into a low split, kicking his leg out to trip me. I landed and kept moving, zigzagging to avoid his sharp, blood-stained claws. I let my guard down for one moment and he caught me, running his claws over my chest. I fell, rolling out of the way just in time to avoid the punch that left a crater in the floor.

I couldn't fight him like this. I was wounded; though he was in worse shape, he was still too powerful. This rage, the pain of rejection, the thirst for bloody vengeance, had only made him stronger.

I reiterate: foresight and I have never been very well acquainted.

I tried to wrack my brain for an answer as I defended myself. Shan left scratches on the blade from his claws, then suddenly grasped it in his hand, ignoring the blood that flowed from his palm. His other claw was raised to come down on my head.

My life flashed before my eyes.

And then I remembered the tournament, and the first time I had seen him fight.

I let go of the sword and threw myself down, sliding on my knees between his legs and propelling myself to the wall. I grabbed onto the curtains, determined to keep my feet off the floor. The battle outside had to be flooding his delicate hearing, the screams of fallen and dying soldiers cutting through the air. His sense of smell was flooded with the pungent odor of blood, and I'm sure he could taste it in the air as well. As long as my feet were off the ground…I was invisible to him.

I was the acorn, he was the tree, and now I was the axe that would cut him down. Red pandas were good at climbing, and I was going to take that for all it was worth.

"Don't do this, Shifu," he growled, turning in a circle, straining his ears and touching the ground, sensing for my movements. There was a hint of worry on his features, and he laughed nervously. "And I thought you were an honorable warrior," he sneered.

"The feeling's mutual," I growled and launched myself from the wall, kicking him soundly in the head. I landed on his shoulders, striking him again, jumping up to avoid the swing of his arm, then landed hard on his shoulders, shoving him down into the floor. He fell and I jumped off him, across the room and onto a tapestry on the opposite wall. I clawed my way along, jumping from place to place, skirting up to the rafters and hiding there. I spied the Sword of Heroes, lying forgotten on the floor; I could risk it, grab it, and end it now.

Shan was back on his feet, crawling along the floor, hastily searching and failing. "Damn you, fight back! Face me like a man!"

"What gives you the right to think you're a real man?" I sneered. I jumped out of the way as he launched himself up. Unfortunately, he was so distracted by the external stimuli that he hit his head on the rafter and fell, landing hard on his back. I took the chance, jumping from the rafters and somersaulting, grabbing the sword as my feet hit the ground. I climbed back up to another tapestry, waiting to see if Shan would come after me.

As soon as I turned, he was there, coming right for me.

I swung the sword out and stabbed forward.

Shan screamed as it pierced his shoulder.

I tore it out and slashed at his chest and face, jumping off the wall and kicked him hard enough to send him clear across the room. As he fell backwards, he tripped over the bodies of the dead empress and assassin. He lay prone on the floor; I wouldn't get a better chance. Zigzagging from one curtain to another, I landed next to him, holding the blade at his throat. He was panting, face screwed up in pain. Blood tinged his silvery eyes red, and a gurgling sound was coming from his throat. He coughed, spitting blood, "You don't have the nerve…"

"Watch me." The sword sliced clear across his throat. His body lurched as blood spurted from the wound, claws digging into the floor. I was fully prepared to wait until he expired, finally paying for his crimes. But I had more important things to worry about. I wiped the blade clean on his clothes, wishing for all the world that he could see the hated look I was giving him.

He just lay there, breathing shallowly. I turned away and ran towards the window. Once the battle was over, I would go back and finish him off if he wasn't already dead. I jumped onto the windowsill, and gaped at the scene in front of me.

* * *

What had once been a clear paved courtyard was now a bloodbath. The Brotherhood numbered more than I expected, a good few hundred. Unfortunately, those on the side of the rebels numbered too many. In the crowd I could clearly see Ochir taking on as many as twenty simultaneously, the fools falling to the axe he had armed himself with. I spotted Ren engaged in a ferocious swordfight with a lion, quickly dispatching the beast and moving on to the next opponent. Li was saving his arrows, opting instead for his twin short-swords. And Yeying was close by, swinging her _pudao_ and easily severing body parts with a fierce light in her eyes.

I cast one last look at Shan's still body, and leapt out. I landed on the head of an Imperial soldier, knocking him down. I didn't wait for him to get up, hitting him in the head with my hilt. I clashed blades with a crocodile, saw an opening and took it, opening up his gut.

I hadn't known what Oogway meant by "shutting down" when in battle. To this day, I don't even know what I did exactly. My cognitive abilities shut down, and I just _reacted_. I didn't think about what I was doing at all. I let instinct take over, all my training now as natural as the inborn abilities of my species. All I remember are kicks, punches, screams as I stabbed and slashed, bodies crumpling to the ground.

Then I was by the side of a huge rhino, whom I recognized immediately.

"Master Terbish?"

He glared down at me, then his gaze softened when he recognized me. "Fu, was it?"

"Its Shifu now," I told him, sweeping my leg out to trip a lizard and struck him soundly.

"You're my son's friend, right?" he asked, punching a tiger in the gut so hard the cat fell dead instantly.

"I am. Isn't there a better time to…"

"No," he glared. "Look around you, Shifu. We're losing."

I snapped out of it long enough to see he was telling the truth. So far, of the hundreds that had come to defend our Emperor, less than one hundred still remained fighting. Among the crowd was everyone from Ren's shop, including Jian Qiang. It was the first time I had seen the old wolf in action since the tournament. When he had fought Shan back then, he was holding back. I didn't recognize the wolf at all from the ferocity of his attacks and the biting snarls and snapping jaws as he took down enemy after enemy. Like everyone else on our side, he was bathed in blood.

Qiang finally made it to us, the three of us standing back to back to fight. Qiang turned to me and ordered, "Get to Ren and Li! We need to retreat!"

"We can't surrender!" I screamed over the roar of battle.

"We're not going to," Terbish roared, slamming into a whole group of soldiers, who fell one by one to his fury. "Tell everyone to get out!"

"What about you?"

"We can handle them," Qiang said. "We've had worse, right Terbish?"

The old rhino chuckled, "Yeah, I remember. Last time we fought like this, Hong was with us, and Li too. That was a good battle."

"So is this one," the wolf grimly agreed. "Shifu, I'm not telling you again, _get out_."

Reluctantly, I obeyed. I don't think I need to elaborate: What they were planning was suicide. They intended to fight until their dying breath to give us the chance to live. As I turned to go, Terbish called back to me, "When you see Ochir…tell him I'm proud of him."

I nodded once and fought my way through the throng of soldiers, finally getting annoyed and jumping over their heads, hop-skipping by jumping across their heads and shoulders. A few ended up killing each other trying to swipe at me.

Yeying spotted me and called my name, beckoning me on. With one last burst of energy, I leapt, landing right next to her. She grabbed my hand, hers slippery with blood and yanked, "Come on, we gotta go!"

"Is it really lost?!"

"We have no choice! Ren's ordered a retreat—" she gasped in horror, as did everyone else on our team as we saw the outer gates slam closed. Imperial soldiers lined the ramparts, aiming crossbows at us. We were trapped.

* * *

Once again, I am the queen of cliffhangers. I expect some backlash from this chapter and the next one, but please, be kind. I like my kneecaps and my internal organs where they are…


	17. Chapter 17

*pokes head out tentatively and sneaks out* Well, I'm not dead yet, so that's probably a good sign that no one wants to sell my organs on the Black Market…yet. Yes, I know I'm an evil bitch, and I write drama so that it actually induces some people to tears, but I never intended to hurt anyone. Honest! Sometimes I just get a little carried away when I write…

Which reminds me, **this is a warning**: This chapter is emotionally draining and angst ridden. So for the sake of your mental health, watch a comedy movie or read a funny story to cheer yourself up. I had to _write_ comedy and watch a full season of Monty Python's Flying Circus to cheer myself up, and I _wrote_ this thing. Please, if you don't do it for yourself, do it for me. And please don't kill me.

One last quick note: my newest baddie's name is made up of the words "wolf" (Lang) and "Sheep's wool" (Rong)…so he's literally a wolf in sheep's clothing. *rimshot* ah, puns…

We're getting right into the action, so here it goes!

Disclaimer: Don't own the panda.

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

Chapter 17

* * *

Trapped.

Never had a word sounded so final, so dangerously complete. The word alone can not convey the utter helplessness and despair that we felt as we stared down the thousands—thousands!—of arrows aimed right for us. Yeying gripped my hand, and I squeezed back, but that was all the strength my shock allowed me. We were less than one hundred now, and even though Ren had not said it, we knew all was lost.

I looked over at him, and I swear I have never seen anyone look so defeated and heartbroken. Li stood by his side, as he always had, offering whatever support he could. Ochir, wounded and bleeding he may have been, was still staring down the opposition, daring them to fire. And Yeying and I shared a look, me trying to save face and not show her how scared I was, and she forcing a smile, but the terror was in her blue eyes.

Up on the wall, someone hollered. We looked up to find the leader of the opposition, a Chinese wolf. He looked as ruthless as Shan had looked, but the dark look in his eyes showed he was a much fiercer opponent…and that had me very worried. His armor betrayed his rank, but I knew more from the level of arrogance he showed; glancing to my right, I saw Ren recognized him.

"Rong Lang," he growled.

The wolf at the gate just smirked and strode forward at a leisurely pace, "That's _Commander_ Rong Lang to you, Jian Ren; I had a feeling you were behind this…"

"I'm not the one you should be arresting."

"You're right, you're not," he stopped, smiling smugly. "Unfortunately for you, both suspects are either dead or dying and, well, China needs someone to blame for the end of a dynasty."

"We were trying to stop the rebellion from happening."

"If you wanted to keep it from happening, you should have told me. We're old comrades, you and I, you could have told me anything…" here he gave Li a dirty look, which the fox returned with equal malice. "Least of all something as simple as who your 'little woman' was."

Ren snarled, stepping in front of Li, "You leave him out of this, Rong. That was ten years ago. You got my rank, something you had aspired for a long time. It was win-win, so don't do this. You know who's to blame."

"You're right. But China doesn't. Now, you can make this easy," he lifted his hand, fingers poised to snap, "and surrender, or you can make it difficult, and you all fall right here under the sting of a thousand arrows."

"Rong, lets be reasonable," Ren said. "We're on the same side here."

"No, no we're not. I would have thought that a man raised by women would have been more of a fairy, but you were raised by _men_…hmm," he made a show of philosophical thought, and cruelly said, "I wonder what that says about your father?"

Ren's reaction was immediate, his fist colliding with the other wolf's head. Remarkably, none of the archers fired, either too shocked from the outburst, or too stupid to act of their own free will. Ochir patted Ren on the shoulder. "Nice one."

"Thanks."

"What is this guy's deal?" Yeying asked him.

Ren sighed, "Rong and I go way back. He was the first kid in our village to call me a pansy, and he wanted to be a great military leader, only problem was that his entire family was unclean."

Worse than peasants, in other words.

"So who'd you bribe, Rong?" Ren demanded. "Who'd you buy off? Li told me Xue Shan had a hand in this…"

Rong struggled to get back to his feet, the men of his army straining as they held their arrows taut. "Xue Shan? Give me a break—he's the one paying _me_."

"WHAT?" Yeying roared. Rong jumped back in alarm at her outburst, and I was starting to think I was safer with the enemy archers. "That son of a…Honey?" she asked sweetly. "Please tell me you disemboweled him."

"Is a slit throat good enough?"

She made a face, then sighed, "Good enough, I guess," she looked at the wolf, "Which means you're not getting paid."

He chuckled, which confused us all. "Oh no, that's where you're wrong. I'm guessing that you all clearly had no idea what was really going on. Heh, figures. Alright, I suppose you have a right to know…"

"The hell we do," Li growled. "You just want to see our faces before you give your men the signal to fire."

Rong grinned wickedly, "So Ren _has_ told you a little bit about me. Good. I'll be sure not to disappoint your already high esteem of me."

Ren snorted, gripping his sword handle tightly. Behind him, Ochir was just barely holding back on taking out the entire column, with Rong being the first to go down.

"You were right when you said my family was 'unclean'…but really, we're undertakers, lets be serious."

"Your family are undertakers, and you're a soldier?" I asked incredulously.

"Nothing wrong with helping the family business, is there?" he chuckled. "No, I never had any intention of growing up to be someone feared and reviled. If anything, I would be feared and _loved_. That's what this was all about, Ren," he said, lightly slapping him on the cheek. "Old buddy, old pal…See, China is like a giant ship at sea. To change its course takes more than just the luck of the winds to get it where you want it to go, but anything you do takes a while to change the direction. I was _sick_ of being spat upon, hated, cursed and I knew it wasn't going to change anytime soon."

Ren was seething. "You murdered the emperor for…"

"The end of all oppression," he said breathlessly, the light of disjointed hope in his eyes. "Think about it, _everyone_ would be equal, there would be no rich or poor, no clean or unclean, it would just be the people, and their ruler! Imagine it, Ren, a country where men were all equal, where you and your…significant other…were free to celebrate your relationship, a country where there was plenty of food and riches for all!"

"Its all fantasy, Rong," he said calmly. "You sold us all for a fantasy…and I know what really happened, that's why I told Li to keep Shan out of this."

Li stared at his lover, questioning. "What the hell are you talking about? You said you didn't trust him."

"I didn't…because he was spending too much time with _you_," he said to Rong, who smirked.

"Guilty," he sounded sickeningly proud of that.

"I know Shan was too honorable to do it for money or power," Ren said. "So what did you offer?"

"What else do you offer a kung fu master?" he cackled. "See, the problem with kung fu masters is that they're so difficult to win over, being so damn _noble_ and everything…"

"What did you offer?!" Ochir snapped, his hands gripping the axe menacingly. I could tell he was really holding back on murdering the wolf right where he stood. Even though I knew he'd be outraged by the news of Shan's betrayal, none of us could deny that, though their relationship had been strained at first, they had become close and affectionate friends over the years. I think back to years before, when Ochir defended Shan against Red Claw's venomous words; after that, the dynamic had changed, and certainly during their travels and battles together, they depended on one another like the earth depends on rain.

Rong, either from bravado, or sheer stupidity, only smirked at the rhino who outweighed him by a couple hundred pounds, and was at least another body taller. "Vengeance. It was easy, getting him to be sympathetic to the Empress and the concubines, but he wouldn't kill for it. I really didn't want to tell him that the Emperor's troops had actually killed his clan…"

"No they didn't," Yeying said. "It was plague."

When he paused, I began to feel sick; when he spoke, I felt truly, exceedingly ill. He said mockingly, "…Oh, is _that_ what happened? Oh, I am _so_ embarrassed…oh well, a means to an end. He did as I expected he would. What's a little mistake between—"

"_Mistake_?!" Ochir roared. "You _lied_ to him to get him to do what you wanted, you son of a—"

"Which, for a snow leopard, is surprising; I never expected them to make such good pets. But, if you killed him," he said to me, "No skin off my nose, its one less loose end to worry about. Which brings me back to you all." He paused dramatically and raised his hand again. "No one in China knows the truth but you…" he started backing away. "And soon, no one alive will know."

Ochir was seething, hands clenching and unclenching around his axe, "Five minutes…just five minutes alone with that son of a bitch…"

"Leave it," Ren sighed, pulling Li into his arms and hugging him tightly, "It's over."

It was over, on our end. As I pulled my wife close to tell her it would be alright, it turned out, I was right.

Up on the wall top, we heard a soldier shriek as he was pulled over the other side, his body hitting the ground with a thud loud enough to be heard through the walls. Rong whipped his head around from the wall back to Li; confusion was written on his features. Li's bow lay at his feet, and his quiver was empty…he hadn't fired.

Suddenly the walls erupted in shrieks and cries. In the torchlight, we saw grappling hooks sailing high into the air like fireworks, raining down on the soldiers, who dropped their weapons and ran to avoid getting hit. A shrill cry tore through the air, followed quickly by a roar from the other side. Over the towering gables of the palace, a dark brown shape flew across the sky and dived, talons drawn, straight for Rong. Rong ducked, hitting the ground just as savage warriors hurled themselves over the ramparts and began the battle anew.

Yeying laughed, "Its Khan!"

"Oh thank the gods," Ren said with a relieved laugh.

Borte circled above and landed on Ochir's offered arm. She was panting, shook out her feathers and sighed, "I'm getting too old for this."

"I gotta tell ya, lady, I've never been happier to see you. If this ain't a miracle I dunno what is!" he grinned.

"Actually, flying through a thunderstorm without getting struck by lightning is a miracle, this is just good timing. And if you all know what's good for you…I'd take a few steps back from the gate."

"Why?"

"NOW!" she screeched.

The hundred of us fell back twenty paces, just as the giant doors blew apart in a marvelous show of fireworks. Borte landed next to me and Yeying, "If there's one thing you Han do well, its make fireworks."

"Of all the technological advancements China's known for," Yeying griped, "you think the best one is fireworks?"

"They're pretty. And so very useful."

"They are that," Ochir winked.

Borte took flight again, flapping in the air, "We've given you an opening, now go! We'll cover you!"

I wasted no time and grabbed Yeying's arm, dragging her along. Behind us, we heard a fantastic roar—Ochir was going for Rong. Yeying turned back and shouted, "Ochir, leave him! It's not worth it!"

"The hell it isn't!" he roared, slamming his axe down into the cobblestones. The cowardly wolf scrambled to his feet but didn't get far as a Mongolian wolf jumped in his way, raising a sword high over his head. Rong blocked it with his own sword, and quickly, a battle between the two wolves and one angry rhino broke out.

"My son," Khan said, suddenly appearing next to us. "Eldest, damn good fighter—learned the trade from Master Jian."

"He's good—but how did you know?" I asked.

"Borte." Khan smiled fondly. "She has been indispensable these past twenty years. Now go, we will cover you."

"What about you?" Yeying asked.

Khan set his jaw and drew his sword, firelight reflecting off the furs sewn into his clothes. "He who was once my enemy became my friend—tonight, I honor his memory."

We heard shouts further ahead, the terrified, agonized screeches of soldiers being cut down, and the fearsome roars from Terbish and savage snarls from Qiang. Khan smirked, "Good. It will be an honor to fight with them."

"Be careful," Yeying said.

"This is battle, woman," he said grimly, then dashed off, raising his sword high over his head as a signal to the men charging through the blown-open gates. The Huns on the walls cut down soldier after soldier, and for the first time I could appreciate their savagery. Blood for Blood, and as Khan had expressively put it, a man who had long been his enemy—the Late Emperor—had become his friend. Apparently, in a fight like this, it paid to have a Mongolian on your side. Savage they may be, but damn if they're not loyal to those they care for.

Yeying was looking around, her face pale, "It's still too easy to be ambushed, we need another way out."

We shared a look, then glanced at the nearest wall. Yeying got a determined look on her face. "On three."

Together, we launched forward, striking the wall with our feet. We fell to the ground, nursing our legs and gaping, "That…is a really thick wall."

"Yeah," she gasped. "I think we need a new plan."

I looked over my shoulder at Ochir, then spotted a tree, and grinned. "Remember years ago when I had Ochir launch me over the Jade Palace walls?"

"Of course I remember. You broke your arm, and were a stupid little boy who thought he was too manly to admit it."

"Thanks so much for being so blunt."

"I'm your wife; it's what I'm here for."

Ochir was surrounded by a score of wolves, his axe cutting them down in record numbers, but more kept trying to take him down. I called over to him, pointed at the tree; recognition dawned on his face. He remembered. Letting out a huge roar, he swung his axe, severing bodies and felling too many enemies to count. He lumbered over, clearing a path and leaving utter carnage in his wake. "GET IN THE TREE!" he shouted.

Yeying grabbed my hand and we scaled the trunk, hauling each other up through the branches to the treetop. Suddenly we had to hold tight as Ochir took hold of a lower branch and pulled down, working his way further up until he held onto the top-most branches. After my wife and I took our places, Ochir hissed, "We only got one chance."

"I know, we won't let you down," I promised. Ochir nodded once, and let go. Yeying and I were sailing through the air and right over the wall, missing the battlements by mere inches before hurtling down to the ground. Yeying struck out with the _pudao_, slamming the blade into the eaves of a nearby house, slowing our descent and allowing us to land easily on our feet. Both of us wobbled, however, from the earlier injury. "Shit," she cursed. "I think we might've sprained them."

"We can still walk," I said. "We've got to keep going, they need us."

"What's the plan?"

Yeying looked around; "Borte mentioned explosives. With any luck, maybe we can use them to blast a hole in the wall, maybe two. There!"

"Where?"

"Look, look, look where I'm pointing!"

Sure enough, we saw a cart full of fireworks; my heart fell. "There's no way fireworks could blast a hole in a wall that thick…"

"If we use enough of them, we can," she said with determination, running over. She shifted rockets around, and I hurried over to help her. The battle raged on the other side, and we knew we had very little time to make our escape route.

"Damn it," I cursed. "isn't there anything in here other than firecrackers?"

Suddenly, when Yeying pulled away a line of firecrackers, at the very bottom of the cart were two large—very large—bucket-shaped explosives, the characters on the sides blaring bright red warning labels.

I shared a look with my wife, both of us chorusing, "That'll work."

We pulled them with some difficulty from the cart, dragging them over to the wall. Yeying scanned the plaster and pointed, laughing, "I'll be damned! We actually got it to crack a little!"

"Good sign," I said. "Means we have a chance at blowing it open."

"Help me put these in place. We'll need a light, a flint, something…"

I cursed; the one thing we were lacking when we needed it most. Yeying scanned around, glancing left and right for a source to light the fuse. Finally, in aggravation, she tore her claws over the cobblestones…and made sparks. We didn't need to speak; we ran a string of firecrackers a safe distance from the two barrels, and she struck the stone again. By the third attempt, the fuse was lit.

We ran for cover.

We dashed down an alley and huddled together, hugging each other tightly. "Where do you learn these things?" I asked as the first firecrackers began to pop.

"If you have to ask, you don't want to know," she yelled over the firecrackers, then bowed her head to brace herself.

Now, we had no idea how powerful these things were. So to say the houses we huddled between nearly crumbled as a result of the blast was not too much of an exaggeration. Screams rent through the air and the fighting fell to an unnatural quiet for only a few seconds before we heard warriors scrambling to the wall.

She and I jumped out of our hiding spot, finding Ren's warriors running into the city, ignoring alarmed citizens as they came out of their houses. Before long, we saw Ren and Li emerging from the rubble, Ren leaning heavily on his lover, who ushered him along as quickly as possible. Yeying ran to the opening and ushered everyone out.

"Come on! Hurry, move it!"

"OCHIR!" I called out to him, "Forget it! LET'S GO!"

But he had stopped, looking over his shoulder. The Imperial soldiers knew better now than to attack him, and he stood alone, covered in blood. I followed his gaze and saw that it rested on his battling father. The old bull lived up to his reputation, and so did Jian Qiang, who fought next to Khan with a savagery I didn't know any living being could possess. Terbish saw his son staring, glared and ordered in a booming voice, "GET OUT!"

Ochir's eyes hardened and he grunted, turned and jogged the rest of the way to the wall. when he passed, I heard him muttering things like "stubborn old bastard", "damn fool", and a slew of others…and I tried to speak up, to tell him what Terbish wanted me to say, but I never got that chance.

A terrible roar and burst of air flung me a few yards. I remember feeling a headache, and my ribs hurting tremendously. Then Yeying was by my side, screaming my name, but it sounded like a whisper against my ringing ears. Was I going deaf? Then I realized the opposite was true—everything sounded so much louder than before, but that made no sense…

"SHIFU!" she screamed, shaking me.

"Ow…" I winced. "I'm okay…"

"Honey, you're bleeding!" she said in a panic. "Ochir, OCHIR! Get over here, you need to carry him!"

"What happened?" I asked. Ochir took me up into his arms, cradling me in the crook of his arm after he strapped his axe to his back. "Rong got reinforcements, actual rockets, we need to move!"

"Go on ahead!" Yeying said.

"Hell no, lil lady!" he snapped. "You're going front 'n center!"

"I need to go back for someone, he's down. Don't worry," she grabbed my hand, "I'll be right behind you!"

I only nodded, pulling her closer for a quick kiss; I told her I loved her, yet I had no idea why. For some reason, something told me I would not be seeing her for a long time.

"I love you too," she whispered. "I'll come back to you!" With that, she was off, and Ochir broke into a run.

I passed out.

* * *

"Keep it down, he's still sleeping."

"I gave him enough dope to knock ten gorillas on their asses, he's _out_."

"Shut up! Look, he's coming around!"

I groaned and slowly cracked my eyes open. I didn't recognize where we were, it was dark, and even the light from the puny fire hurt my eyes. I recall getting struck in the head, and the numerous open cuts and wounds from the battle. The stench of blood still invaded my nose, and I sneezed a couple times to purposefully expel it, but it was everywhere. My body was completely bandaged up, my head hurt, actually, my entire body ached. In the dim light, I saw a few shapes, and recognized one easily.

Mohinder shook his head and placed a cold wet cloth on my forehead, "He is lucky the concussion and bruised ribs are the worst he got."

"A damn miracle you're still alive," Borte said. "Your friends will be very pleased to see you well."

"Where are we?" I croaked.

"In hiding. We…" she sighed, and I could see the look in her fierce eyes that she had very bad news. "We lost the war. Rong Lang is the new Emperor, and has declared martial law across the empire. We were able to escape the city, but as for Khan and his men, and Ren's soldiers…"

She didn't need to elaborate. The treatment the Huns would receive was actually tame compared to how the Han traitors would be treated. "Where is Ren? And Li, did they make it?"

"They're safe," Mohinder said. "They're just outside, in another cave visiting Ochir. He sustained his fair share of wounds too, but he'll live. Li has a broken arm, so he won't be shooting arrows any time soon."

"Ren lost an eye in his fight with Rong Lang. Mohinder's treated it, but Ren will have to wear an eye patch..."

"What about Yeying?" I asked. "Where is she?"

Mohinder set his jaw and Borte looked right at me with an expression I couldn't describe at the time. Now that I know, it should have been obvious.

"Master Shifu," she said softly, "Master Yeying is…"

* * *

The scroll fell, clattering to the floor from Tigress' nerveless hands. The five other warriors stared, confused until the tiger gasped out the last word in a choked voice: "…gone."

* * *

"What do you mean, 'gone'?" I asked. "She's someplace else, right? Another safe house?"

Borte shook her head; Mohinder had moved away, avoiding this conversation altogether. What I saw as poor bedside manner was actually grief, and I can hardly hold that against him. The shock had not yet set in.

"Shifu," the falcon said slowly, trying to put it as easily as possible. "She didn't make it out of the palace complex…"

"She was right behind us…" I was shaking my head, my voice rising in panic. "She was right behind Ochir, and Li, and Ren! She said she was right behind us!"

"She went back," she sighed, "She went back to help someone, and that was the last time I saw her…"

"You're lying," I snapped. "You're LYING!"

"Shifu, I'm not lying," she sternly said. "Your wife is gone. She…she's now a martyr for our cause."

No. "No…no, she's not. She's still alive, we need to go back—"

"That is suicide," Mohinder said bluntly. "Even if we last saw her alive, defending one of our own, and buying time for the rest of us, reports of what Rong is doing to traitors…" he shook his hooded head. "There is no hope. He has killed your wife; and now, he is after your head as well. He is after all of us; we are wanted for conspiracy, treason, and murder, and the punishment is beheading. If it helps, she probably didn't suffer; her death was probably quick…"

Borte sharply clipped him with her uninjured wing, snapping her beak with a loud _clack_. "Shut UP, you fool!"

I stared up at the ceiling, the memories of that night resurfacing. The walls blown apart, our fighters—the ones still alive—pouring out of the hole we had made, the roars of the old masters and Khan and his men echoing off the palace walls and the houses in the city. Yeying grasping my hand as I fell after the rocket's blast, ordering Ochir to carry me away, calling, "I'll be right behind you!" and then she was gone.

Gone.

Tears sprung into my eyes even as I tried to deny what I heard. No, no she was still alive, she had to be. She wouldn't—couldn't—die, she was my love, my wife, my everything, my life depended on her as surely as hers depended on me…and I had failed her. I had failed to protect my wife, and it cost me dearly.

Borte cleared her throat; I closed my eyes, "Get out."

"Shifu…"

"Now, Borte, both of you."

"We did everything we could…"

I grabbed the bowl of water sitting by my side and hurled it in her direction, the dish shattering as it hit the cave wall, "I SAID GET OUT!"

Mohinder came over and shepherded her out, leaving me alone. Once I was finally alone and the shock hit me, the truth hit even harder. Forty years later, I can't put into words how I felt at that moment; it is still too painful to describe. I had never cried so hard in my thirty-two years than the night I learned the woman I loved was dead.

* * *

Crane had to set down the scroll, blinking his eyes rapidly to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. Viper, Mantis and Tigress had already given up that battle. Monkey and Po looked ready to cry at a moment's notice. Tigress was so overcome with shock, she couldn't continue, so Crane had to finish the section for her. Po now had his arms around her, rocking her slowly, though truthfully, he was just as devastated as everyone else in that room.

Crane looked around at the depressed faces, then sighed, rolling the scroll back up. "I think we should take a break."

* * *

They didn't revisit the memoirs until almost four days later. Once the shock of Yeying's death hit them, each of them found different ways to cope. Crane retreated to his room for calligraphy practice, but found that all the characters he formed were "Loss", "Pain", "Sorrow" and "Love". Mantis' normally jovial nature was dampened considerably, he no longer sought focus and calm; all too quickly, the impatience from his youth came back with a vengeance, and he started snapping at anyone who came near. Viper was nearly inconsolable, grieving the loss as if she had known Shifu's wife. And not even his favorite almond cookies could bring Monkey out of his slump.

Tigress reverted to training again, but even something that brought her such focus and was something she loved…she couldn't find the energy to do it. Relenting, she plodded over to the kitchen, where Po was dealing with his own feelings in the only way he knew how. The tiger's eyes widened when she saw the display on the table.

He had cooked—a lot. There were delicacies, stuffed cabbage leaves, rice puddings with various mixtures of fruits, some with vegetables and others with fish and tofu. There were pastries, including about eight dozen almond cookies Monkey had helped him bake earlier that day. And now the panda was shaping dumplings, putting a vegetable and shrimp mix into the middle of a round dough circle and crimping the edges before setting them in a pot to steam. He looked up at her when he sensed her presence and gave a small wave, but there was little joy behind it. Tigress had to commend him; instead of eating when he was upset, now he cooked.

"Can I help?" she finally asked. He blinked, bewildered, and asked, "You sure? You don't strike me as someone who…"

"I need the distraction, and training's not doing it."

He smiled sadly and made room for her at the counter. After washing her hands, she rolled up her sleeves, floured up her hands and set to work after he showed her the finer points of dumpling making.

"I'm thinking of making wontons later," he said. "Not sure if I should fry them or not."

"I love fried crab wontons," Tigress smiled. "It's not the right season though."

"I know. Maybe in summer, when they're in season?"

"I'd like that, thank you."

"Hey, I'm head cook; it's kinda my job to know everyone's favorite foods. Speaking of…" he offered a small smile, "I was thinking of taking all this food down to the village, since I don't think we'll eat it all. While we're there, maybe we can get ingredients for those cinnamon sweet buns you love?"

"What's the occasion?" she asked.

He sighed, "Why do you think someone needs a reason to be nice to you?"

"I think we're avoiding the subject," she said, avoiding further inquiry into her self-consciousness by placing two dumplings in the steamer. She heard Po sigh, then he nodded, knowing he wasn't going to get the answer he sought…at least not right now. "Yeah, I know, and you're right. But, it's kinda silly to be mourning someone we never even met, right?"

Both of them were silent, then shared a look, then sighed heavily. "I guess not…" he muttered.

"I'm not sure I can handle hearing the rest. How many other people died?"

Po looked over his shoulder at the basket of scrolls, and the one laying on top from three days before. As much as it hurt to think what else could have befallen their beloved master…he was just too curious to _not_ know.

"You know what, screw going to the village," he said, washing his hands off. "Go get everyone together. We're going to finish that scroll, and we're doing it right now."

* * *

I don't remember the rest of the trip. Mohinder kept me sedated for the journey, he claimed, because of my injuries. I think he and I both knew that it was the only way I could deal with my grief. I recall cracking my eyes open every so often, finding myself being carried either in Ochir's arms or Ren's, with Li looking on worriedly. We had to move at night, or we would be discovered and arrested. Mohinder and Borte were in just as much danger. Borte suggested going to Mongolia, where surely we'd be safe, but Li protested, saying no place was safer than the Jade Palace.

We would find out later how right he was.

I don't remember how long we were traveling, but when the drugs finally wore off, I awoke back in our room…no, it was _my_ room now. And suddenly all the physical and emotional pain came flooding back in a relentless torrent that wouldn't allow me rest. Li was the only one who could get me to eat, the only one who could force me to bathe, to drink, to actually get out of bed in the morning, although the night brought me no rest.

The first time Master Oogway saw me, he looked alarmed. He told me later that I looked like a wreck, like I had come from Hell and back and been torn up by demons' claws along the way. He genuinely feared that I would not survive my wounds, and he probably had very good reason to fear that. I felt like hell. I felt like falling asleep and never getting back up. My body felt too heavy to move; Ochir spent many days carrying me around after my legs failed me.

I saw very little of Ren in those days. His wounds had apparently been worse than my own, and Li spent much of his time skipping back and forth between my bedside and his husband's. When I finally did see him, I hardly recognized him. His whole body was covered with bandages, his right eye covered with gauze wrappings. A notch had been taken out of his ear, and he was missing patches of fur in various places. Also, the warm light in his eyes I had seen and appreciated so much was forever extinguished. Only a fool could not see how he blamed himself for this whole situation. Along with all his friends, he had lost his father as well; nothing we told him would console him. If possible, he was even more depressed than I was.

Before I knew it, a month had passed, though I wouldn't have realized it if I did not see preparations for the Autumn Moon Festival being made throughout the Jade Palace. A month without my wife…and I would have to suffer the rest of my life without her.

They say grief comes in stages. First is denial, then anger, many times acceptance, though sometimes never comes. I don't think I ever accepted she was truly gone, because I saw her everywhere I went. Everywhere in the palace, I could see her, easily imagine her sitting next to me at dinner, sleeping next to me at night, picking flowers in the gardens or practicing in the training hall, even enjoying a peach, smiling blissfully as the juices ran down her chin. Every time I heard a nightingale's call at night, it brought a strange comfort, like she was watching over me. Sometimes, I swore I could still smell her peony perfume in the air. I kept the bottle of it, locked away so no one else could touch it. I still take it out on occasion, forty years later, just to smell it and remind me of her scent again.

One morning I woke to the sound of loud sobbing. Most mornings it had been quiet—agonizingly so, at times—and when I opened my door and looked down the hall, I was surprised to find Ochir gently holding Borte, her shrieks cutting through the air like a thousand knives.

I stepped forward, silently begging, _What's wrong?_

Ochir looked back at me, gently petting Borte's feathers as she cried into his shoulder. He sighed and looked back with watery eyes, "Khan's dead."

I wobbled on my feet, grabbing onto the wall to keep from falling. Ochir went down the list of those lost; apparently the names had all been published by the new Emperor Rong's administration, all of them slandered as "traitors"; there was even a list of those still wanted, dead or alive, of which the four of us were most certainly at the top of that list.

Among the dead: Master Terbish and Master Jian Qiang, both of whom died fighting threescore Imperial soldiers apiece, and taking down every single one; rather than suffer at the hands of the new tyrant, they killed themselves to avoid dishonor. Every member of The Brotherhood except for Ren, Li, Mohinder and Borte, were dead; if any were not already dead, they were as good as. The Great Khan and most of his relatives were killed in battle, Khan himself fighting bravely until the very end, when Imperial soldiers were too frightened to attack him outright, felled him with a volley of a hundred arrows. Khan's two youngest sons survived and had made it safely to Mongolia, with a heavy bounty on their heads. In the past month, they had restarted the raids to the north, savagely killing Imperial soldiers and other Han Chinese in retribution. In the blink of an eye, over the course of one night, twenty years of peace was forgotten and violence reigned over the north once again.

And of course, these losses felt like nothing next to losing the woman I loved more than life itself.

I looked back at Ochir, realizing I had waited too long to follow through on his father's last request. "He's proud of you," I finally told him.

"What?"

"Your father. Before he told me to retreat, he wanted me to tell you that, no matter what your past or your differences, he loves you, and is proud of you."

Ochir was silent for a long moment, then he sniffed, nodded and smiled a little, his eyes watering up…but at least he cracked a smile, "Thanks, cretin."

I managed to crack my first smile in a month, "You're welcome."

* * *

A day later, we were roughly roused from sleep by a harsh banging on the gates. We scrambled from bed, meeting Master Oogway down in the arena. If you could have seen us that day…we were all a mess. We looked nothing like the honorable, brave masters we had been. We looked like vagrants, for heaven's sake, drunks, opium addicts, with dark circles and heavy bags under our eyes.

The banging got louder the closer we got. Oogway held up his hand to stop us; we stood three paces behind him. He instructed the servants to open the double-doors, and when they did, we panicked.

"Emperor" Rong sat in the doorway on a gilded palanquin, smirking triumphantly. He snapped his fingers and a servant lizard bowed to the "son of heaven" (my ass) and hurried forward. He opened a scroll and read aloud,

"By order of the most illustrious Son of Heaven, Emperor Rong, I hereby announce the immediate arrests of the following: Master Flying Rhino, Master Dong Li, former Lieutenant Jian Ren, and Master Shifu. They are to be tried for conspiracy, treason, and counts of murder so numerous it is impossible to count…"

Ochir and Ren shared a smirk, looking proud of those murder charges.

"…the penalty of which is death, either by hanging from the neck until dead, or behead—"

We gasped when Oogway's staff tore through the scroll. The astonished lizard barely got a word out when the tortoise picked him up by the tail and swung him around over his head before letting go, jumping high into the air and giving the swiftest, hardest kick I have ever seen. The lizard went flying, and Oogway marched straight up to the gilded palanquin, reaching inside past the gauze curtains and yanked Rong out by his ear. Rong yelped sharply, wincing as Oogway literally dragged the wolf across the muddy ground; it had rained the night before and, knowing my master, he probably was going to milk that for all it was worth. He should have looked dignified in those golden dragon robes, but the way he cowered in front of our master—the cowardly bastard—if any of us had ever respected him, it was long gone now.

Oogway threw the so-called emperor down on the ground, his staff on the back of his neck, forcing him to bow to us. Our master's voice had such an edge to it, all four of us stepped back in alarm. We had never seen him so angry, and I think Rong could tell we were worried…so naturally, he was worried too.

"How dare you…how _dare_ you," Oogway hissed. I shared a look with my three friends and all of us visibly gulped. Oogway did not yell; he whispered. And when he whispered, so help you Gods, you had better listen. "How _dare_ you come to my home, pound on my door, and order me to release innocent men into the hands of an angry mob? If you are looking for traitors and murderers, look no further than your own reflection! I am going to say this once, and only once," he reached down and grabbed the treacherous wolf by the throat, slowly tightening his grip.

They were face to face, Rong pale and terrified, Oogway resolute and strong as I had never seen him. He raised his voice, only a little, to give the "emperor's" guards the benefit of this warning.

"If I ever," he said softly, and slowly, intentionally drawing out and emphasizing every word, "_ever_ see you, your soldiers, or any of your courtiers or officials in this valley, ever again, I will make you rue the day your mother conceived you. I will make you rue the day your father was conceived, and his father, and his father's father, and all the way down the line to the progenitor of your family tree. I will make you wish your clan never existed, and curse your mother's and father's name. And if you think you can threaten the lives of my students and friends…think again. If you dare to send anyone after them, wherever they may go, it is not my students you'll have to worry about, oh no…you will need to worry about _me_ and what _I_ will do to you. _No one_ threatens my students, not even the so-called 'Son of Heaven'. Got that?"

Rong nodded vehemently, gulping and gasping for air. Oogway didn't look entirely convinced, but let him go anyway, dropping him to his knees. Master raised his voice, "If you are not out of this valley by noon, I am coming after you and will _personally_ drag you to the Thread of Hope and toss you into the chasm. Now _get out_."

Rong scrambled to his feet, slipping and falling in the mud, his golden robes sullied and fouled. His bearers hardly waited for him to sit in the palanquin before they were off down the slope, marching double-time. One of the Imperial soldiers looked back over his shoulder, paled at Oogway's furious expression and ran down the steps as if a demon were hot on his heels.

As soon as they were gone, our master took a deep, cleansing breath, visibly pushing the anger from his system. When he opened his eyes, he wasn't smiling, staring out the open doors. He hailed to the servants to close and lock the gates, lest Rong be stupid enough to come back. When he turned to us, I admit, we took a step back. Then he smiled, "I always wanted to know if I could get away with that."

Li snorted, then smirked, "You created kung fu—what idiot would challenge you?"

"I'm afraid only an idiot would bother, Master Li," he chuckled. "My friends, you must heed my words," he continued, suddenly serious. "As long as you are living in this valley, I can protect you. One day—perhaps soon—I will be gone, and when that happens, Rong will not hesitate to bring you in. As long as you stay here, in the Jade Palace, I can guarantee your safety. But out there…I have no such luck. My influence only goes so far…"

"With the late Emperor," Ren said sharply. "Your influence was all over China. He respected you—Rong doesn't. You should have killed him!"

"And what justice is that?" Oogway asked, lumbering past us. "My good friend Emperor Yi is dead, may Heaven grant him a peaceful rest, and there is nothing that will bring him back. Remember we lost someone who was obsessed with such so-called, skewed ideals of justice?"

Ren was immediately silenced, and lowered his ears in shame. We all did. We were all thinking it. Rong was responsible for all the losses we suffered, and we all wanted his head as surely as he wanted ours.

While we let the matter drop that day, Rong was ruthless enough to find other ways to get to us. When he did, my friends could not sit back any longer.

* * *

It happened three weeks later, when the palace messenger flew into the Sacred Hall of Warriors, where Oogway had gathered us. He felt reviewing some of the scrolls in the library would do us some good by bringing us some focus to take our minds off the ever-worsening news from the outside. But the goose brought a scroll that changed everything, and effectively ruined my life forever.

He huffed and grabbed his side as cramps set in, handing the scroll to Oogway. When our master read it, his face paled, then just as quickly, clenched his hands into fists and ordered us out. Having seen him angry before, we knew better than to question. Before I left, he took my wrist, sighed heavily, and handed the scroll to me. "Read it. You have a right to know. I am very sorry, Fu."

He had called me Fu, but I knew I wasn't in trouble. That was when the sickening dread came in. I rushed outside into the late afternoon light, unrolled the scroll and read it, my friends looking over my shoulder. I barely got past the first sentence before I broke down, screaming and cursing, tearing at my fur and clothes in grief.

Rong's forces had gone to Mount Tai Lung and massacred every last snow leopard there. And as they were leaving, they razed the southern Zhou-tong village to the ground, and executed my father, the headman. They killed every member of my family. Worse, they left no orphans. My nieces and nephews, from the young adolescents to the tiniest babies, now lay with their parents and grandparents in a mass grave with the other villagers.

In the span of two months, I had gone from having almost everything—the only thing I lacked being a child to call my own—to losing absolutely _everything_. I was the last of my family.

I don't even remember fainting—probably from the shock—but what I do remember is waking up in my bed, my head aching, and that terrible scroll bearing that dreadful news on my bedside table. I was alone, with only the light of a single candle to guard me against the darkness of night.

I soon saw the piece of parchment tacked to the table. I tore it off, read it, and felt sicker than I ever had before:

* * *

_Shifu,_

_Nothing I can say or do can ever make up for everything you lost. Ren, Ochir, and I are in agreement that Rong Lang can not get away with this. I don't know how to say this gently, but here goes: we're leaving. We're going to fight him, and his forces. We'll leave China if we have to, but we're coming back someday. With the Jade Emperor in Heaven as our witness, we will defeat Rong Lang, or die trying. _

_We will not go alone, but we are splitting up to cover more ground. Ochir and Borte are going north, to live with the Mongols; they will be safe there. Khan's surviving sons have promised a safe haven for them, somewhere in Outer Mongolia._

_As for Ren and I, I can't tell you where we're going; it's not safe. Mohinder is coming with us. He's left medicine and instructions to the attendants for treating your wounds._

_Ren wanted to leave immediately, and, as he is my husband, I'm going with him. It wasn't an easy decision. I may love Ren more than life itself, but I love you as well, and I always have. You were the first person to be nice to me in my new home, my first real friend, and you stood by me when I needed you most. That's why this is so hard. You stood by my side when I needed you, but I won't be there for you in your time of need. You need someone right now, and all I can do is ask you to have our Master Oogway by your side. Of anyone, I know he would never fail or forsake you._

_For the love of the gods, Shifu, __please__ hold on. We __will__ be coming back, and we __will__ avenge your family, and Yeying. Rong will come after us, not you; he wants Ren and I more than you, and if we lead him away, you will be safe. This is the last gift I can give you._

_If you never hear from us, or any rumors about us, then assume we're well; it means we're doing our job right. If you hear our names, it is likely because we have been captured, killed, or worse. Pray for us, as you are in our prayers._

_Love, your oldest, dearest, and eternal friend,_

_Dong Li

* * *

_

I barely made it to the chamber pot before I vomited, finally giving in to the sickened feeling I'd had since losing Yeying. I had lost everything. I lost my wife, and now my entire family, no doubt punishing them for their association with me. And why attack the clan of the Dragon's Lair? What had they done? Was it just because they were snow leopards?

I vomited again, coughing and spitting the bile out of my mouth. I shakily sat, staring across the room at Li's letter, and tears finally started falling.

First my wife, my Yeying…and now my family, my entire family, all dead…and now my friends had abandoned me. They had forsaken me. I needed them now more than ever, and they had left. How could I respect what they were trying to do? How could I when they had left me alone, hopelessly alone and depressed?

Not for the first time, and certainly not the last, I cried again for all I had lost, for the first time in my life feeling totally and hopelessly alone.

* * *

The summer soon lapsed into autumn, and as the days grew shorter and nights grew longer, and the weather colder, my depression increased tenfold. I had stopped training long before, finding it difficult to get up in the morning, then it became virtually impossible. My clothes were always wrinkled, rarely washed, my room in shambles, and I walked throughout the palace and the grounds like a man who had lost his soul. In essence, I had.

Oogway gave me time to grieve, knowing I needed some time. But as the weeks progressed into months, I could feel his worry starting to become more and more pronounced. Before long, and almost right before winter solstice, he insisted on a palace servant always being near me. By the end of that month, I was never left alone except to sleep and bathe, which I hardly ever did anyway.

My depression got worse just before New Year's. It was the second major holiday I spent without my wife and friends. Those first holidays, the first year, is the hardest by far. Each subsequent year, it gets a little easier, but that gaping wound in your heart never disappears. I had faced betrayal, loss, and death, and though I should have been grateful to be alive, I wished I were dead.

A few days before the Lunar New Year, I was walking the grounds late at night. The attendant who was assigned to me was sleeping at his post, so it was simple, child's-play, to sneak into the kitchen for a knife. I had lost all sense of mental faculty, and at first, I was scared, knowing what I was about to do. But I saw no alternative. I had thought long and hard of how to bring an end to my suffering, and had done so for a good month. Oogway had no idea. No one had any idea. And they wouldn't know until they found me in the morning.

I walked the grounds, knife in hand, searching out a proper place to be alone. I avoided the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom, having enough honor left to not sully that sacred ground with spilled blood. Not the bunkhouse, someone would have heard and tried to stop me. Any other location was too open, too much of a chance of being caught. My thoughts finally settled on the bathhouse; it would have been easy to clean up afterwards.

I slowly opened the door, taking a deep breath as I walked inside. Everywhere I looked, I was haunted by ghosts, memories I had of this place. I spotted Yeying's bathrobe hanging on a peg outside the women's bath. I took it, inhaling the scent that still lingered on it, feeling my eyes well up with tears. I was so close; a momentary panic swept through me, but it was too late to back out now.

I knelt on the floor, opening up my robe just enough to position the knife over my heart and closed my eyes…

Then I heard the crying.

I opened my eyes, my ears ticking, swiveling around. I wondered if someone had followed me and was about to stop me…but I was alone. The crying would not abate, an intense wailing that I could hear all the way from the bathhouse, but no one else could. Somehow after my head injury, I had developed such sensitive hearing that no one else could rival; I could hear things from great distances that fell silent on everyone else's ears.

The crying would not cease. It was coming from the arena. I growled and stood up, intent on putting an end to it so I could end my life in peace. When I got to the arena, it was empty and dark save for a single red lantern hanging above my head. I grabbed it, looking around. The crying had gotten louder, but there was no one in sight. It took a moment to realize through the fog in my head that it was coming from the other side of the walls.

I marched over, holding the lantern high. I unbarred the door, then swung them open.

My knife clattered to the stones as it fell from my nerveless hands.

It was a baby. A baby snow leopard.

The light shining on it settled it down a bit, but it still fussed, still cried, its face screwed up in a grimace of fear and loneliness. It was bundled up in a rich indigo cloth with an intricate design woven into it. But the night was cold; I could see the breath in front of my face. Who would leave a baby, alone, abandoned at the locked doorstep of a kung fu temple, on a night as cold as this?

My reaction was slow, shaking my head to clear the fog as I stepped out and picked the child up. As soon as someone was holding it, it stopped crying, and opened its eyes to look at me. Those eyes were unmistakable and I recognized them immediately as Min Lung's. There was no way to deny this was her child.

I looked around frantically, amazed that she had somehow avoided the massacre on Mount Tai Lung, but there was no one around. I called out, begging for someone to answer me, but all I got was silence. The baby began to fuss, shaking in my arms from the cold. I held it closer, and it started to quiet down now that it had a source of heat.

Without a word, I stepped back inside, closing the doors behind me. My eyes caught the glint of the knife in the lantern light and I stopped, realizing with horror what I had been about to do, the ultimate selfish act. My back hit the wall before I knew it, and I slid down when my legs failed me; I was clutching the baby so tightly it began to cry again.

This time, its cries—and eventually, mine—must have alerted one of the servants, who immediately sent for Master Oogway. When he arrived in the arena, I was still there, holding the baby and mingling its tears with my own. When I looked up at my master, I saw his wide eyes staring at the knife by my side. He fixed his stare back to me and wordlessly walked forward and picked up the blade…and promptly stabbed it to the hilt into the wooden doors.

I could hear the disappointment in his voice, "You are not to be left alone; someone _will_ be with you, morning, noon, and night, no exceptions."

"I know," I said tiredly, feeling drained. I deserved every punishment he could give.

"I will not allow you to be alone for the next three months. If, by spring, you are not better and can still not be trusted to be left alone…" he left the threat open-ended. He probably had no idea what to do with me at that point. But I knew he'd think of something. Finally he looked down at the bundle in my arms.

He pulled away some of the blanket from the babe's face and his eyes widened, surprised as I was…but then he smiled.

Fixing his gaze on me again, this time, softened, he beckoned me to stand. "Come," he said. "Lets get him inside; it is far too cold to keep him out here."

I snapped myself out of it, realizing I hadn't even bothered to see if the child were male or female (they all looked the same at that age, I thought). I gathered what little strength I had left and followed my master inside, straight to the kitchen, where we found some rice milk to feed the baby (who turned out to be male after all). How my master knew the baby's gender without checking, I'll never know.

Oogway left it to me to feed him, citing that "these old hands aren't what they used to be", but I felt it difficult to keep steady as the child sucked away on a bottle filled with warm milk. I couldn't take my eyes off of him, and I couldn't believe how…at peace I felt. The child finished the milk in record time; I patted his back until he burped, and he closed his eyes and fell asleep in my arms.

"He knows who to trust," Oogway said with a smile.

"How?" I asked. "I don't even trust myself…"

He laid a hand on my shoulder. "Shifu, this is a time of new beginnings. The year of the snake is just about to begin. This child is year of the dragon, possibly only nine months old, by my reckoning, though you're better off asking a mother—they would know better than I the boy's approximate age."

I was staring at the design on the child's blanket, "I know this pattern."

"Do you?"

"It is common on Mount Tai Lung…"

"How interesting. Perhaps someone survived."

"Perhaps—this little one did, anyway. Somehow…" I shook my head. "But why here? And who?"

"I think you know, deep in your heart, as I know."

And deep in my heart, I believed it. It had to be Min Lung's son, of that I was certain.

"So what will you name him?"

"What?" I asked. Oogway smiled, caressing the child's cheek with the back of a claw; the child smiled in his sleep. "What will you name him?" he repeated.

"I can't keep him; I can't be trusted…"

"Alone, you can't be trusted to be alone, but with this little one…I have a feeling he is your salvation, your deliverance from the darkness that has consumed you."

I closed my eyes, adjusting the baby in my arms, and thought about my options. Outside, to my amazement, I heard the unmistakable sound of a nightingale's warble. It was something I had heard and agonized over for months, but at that moment, it appeared as a sign, divine intervention, and something else struck me. _Something_ had stopped me from taking my own life, _something_ had compelled me to seek out the source of the crying, and _something_ compelled me to discover this child and bring him into the palace…thus, adopting him. The nightingale's song cinched the deal, and only confirmed my suspicions. In the end, it wasn't as hard a decision as I thought it would be.

"Tai Lung," I said. "His name is Tai Lung."

* * *

Oogway kept to his word, never allowing me to be alone; even when I bathed (which thankfully was frequently, now) a servant was not too far away. But even if there weren't a servant near me, I never allowed myself to be alone anyway.

The infant Tai Lung had taken over my life. I regret to say I ignored him the first couple of days because of my continuing depression, but by the time the New Year was about to begin, he seemed to be on to my plan, and demanded constant attention, crying until I showed up; his retribution for being ignored was swift and merciless. Night was the worst. He would fall asleep, wake up crying two hours later, then go back to sleep, and repeated the process about three more times before I could finally sleep the rest of the morning to make up for it.

At midnight on New Year's, I expected all of the commotion and the firecrackers and fireworks to alarm him and send the poor cub into a fit of hysterics…but he surprised me. He watched from my arms the display of lights in the night sky, and squealed with delight, smiling widely. But he looked at me with just as much fascination, and, even more shocking, love and trust.

It was that first day of the New Year that I fell in love with him.

Just as I was never out of Oogway's watchful eye, so Tai Lung was never without me. At nine months, he was able to sit up on his own and crawl. We spent most days of the two-week-long festival playing on the floor—and me spending most of that time keeping him from putting various objects in his mouth. More than a few times he bit me or clawed me, but it was never intentional, and he was too young to know any better. But let me assure you that milk teeth and infant claws _hurt_.

By the end of that first month, Oogway let up on my surveillance, and in turn spent less time avoiding me, and more time joining me in playing with "his grandson".

By the fifteenth day of the New Year's festival, Tai Lung officially became my son. People have since asked me, especially in the last twenty years, what on earth compelled me to adopt a snow leopard, raise him, train him in kung fu, and then have the audacity to support him even after the things he did. If only they knew…that night, that cold winter's night forty years ago, if it weren't for Tai Lung, I would be dead.

The first act that snow leopard ever did for me was save my life.

And, despite his mistakes, I still love him for that very reason.

* * *

When Po rolled up the scroll and set it aside, he looked at his comrades, noting the astonished, pained, yet thoughtful looks. Mantis was the first to speak, "Well, shit."

"Damn," Monkey said.

"Yeah, ditto," said Crane.

"I mean, holy _shit_," Mantis cursed again.

"Can you say anything other than that?" Tigress asked, annoyed. Mantis actually sniffed, and gave up the tough-guy outer shell, "I'm okay, I'm just…damn, that was intense…I think I need a hug."

Viper willingly complied, looking like she needed it as much as he did. Po closed his eyes and sighed through his nose. Tigress mirrored him, reaching for another wonton; she glared at the panda, "By the by, thanks so much for forcing me to pick up your habit…"

"Whatever," he shrugged, "If it makes you guys feel better…dig in, eat it all, I don't care."

Without another word, they gave in to the temptation to eat to make themselves feel better. Somehow, eating when they were upset didn't carry the same stigma it once had. After a long silence, Tigress put down her chopsticks and swore, "_Damn_ it. Damn it to _Hell_."

"What's wrong?"

She groaned, running her hands over her face. "I can't hate Tai Lung anymore…" She didn't need to finish, because they all shared the sentiment; how could they possibly hate someone who saved the life of the master they loved?

* * *

I know I ask for reviews each chapter…but you don't have to, this time around. The ones I got from Chapter 16 broke my heart to read. Do people really become so attached to these characters? Jesus, if I ever publish a novel, I don't think I could handle the audience calling for my blood. I mean, hell, I cried when JK Rowling killed off Sirius Black, raved for days and called her a few names and made questionable comments about her personal hygiene (later recanted, of course, because I felt guilty, even though there's no way she would ever know). So, review if you feel like it. If I lose a few readers, I will not blame you. All I ask is please keep flames to a minimum. Thank you.

One last thing, Taigress Mix, new chapter, will also be posted tonight to help deal. Everyone needs a little comedy after all this, right?


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda. All the OCs belong to me, no stealing.

Please keep in mind this is from a parent's point of view, not a child's. I know we all have theories about Tai Lung's childhood; for the most part, I think his was a happy one. But, as is the case with this story, there's gotta be some tragedy.

But enough of my rambling. Please enjoy!

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

Chapter 18

* * *

Po didn't know what to think. He was sure he wasn't the only one to be completely horrified that Shifu had come so close to ending his own life. Po firmly believed that no matter how rough something got, suicide was never the answer. _If you hit rock bottom, there's nowhere else to go but up_, his father, ever the optimist, would say.

But now…he wasn't so sure. Shifu had encountered so many blows that the panda wondered how _anyone_ could survive such pain and heartache. The betrayal of Xue Shan was bad enough, but to find that the snow leopard had been tricked and ruthlessly betrayed as well was, in the panda's mind, proof that the snow leopard was not as evil as everyone else thought.

But, Po had thought the same about Tai Lung. And why shouldn't he? Tai Lung was no different than he was—he loved kung fu, and wanted to make his father proud, exactly what Po wanted to do. What cemented this belief was the snow leopard's reaction to the blank scroll: the look of complete shock, sorrow, betrayal, and the soul-crushing cry of "It's nothing!" that informed the panda that he'd felt his entire life was for nothing. Hell, if they had switched places, Po would have been just as devastated.

But that didn't make him evil.

Now that Po knew _why_ Shifu loved the snow leopard so much…it all made sense. Everything…why he was so cold, why he had been so harsh to his other students. Po figured that Shifu didn't want to unleash another monster…

But how could a monster come from a cute, helpless, orphaned kitten? Something didn't add up.

But he was just as determined as ever to find out what made Shifu—and now Tai Lung—tick.

* * *

I suppose the best place to start with any story is at the beginning, and in the case of this chapter in my life, it is time that I be completely honest about it. Oogway would never have turned him away, no matter how much the baby reminded us of the one who abandoned his humanity and decency in favor of revenge. I do not believe my master ever truly felt biased towards the child who would someday become the scourge of the valley; I believe he felt as I did, that this was an opportunity we couldn't pass up.

I, of course, had my own theories about him. Once I saw him, it occurred to me that I may be making a mistake in bringing him in. I almost took him to Bao Gu, but as Rong was still out for my blood, if I left the Jade Palace, my life—and the baby's—would be forfeit. My instinct told me that whoever the child's parents were, they were clearly enemies of the new Emperor, and believed their son was not safe with them. I was almost certain they were now dead.

But curiously, as I mentioned before, the babe's swaddling clothes were a rich purple, in a design that was instantly recognizable as belonging to the clan on Mount Tai Lung. That was how he got his name. For the majority of his childhood, however, he was simply known as "Tai".

Once I showed him to Master, it was obvious from the smile on his face that he approved the child staying, but instead of adopting him himself, he offered that honor to me. I had my misgivings, of course, knowing Tai would not be raised with a mother; I felt I had broken my vow to my wife by raising a family without her. But holding that infant in my arms and watching him sleep, feeding him, hell, even changing his diapers were an honor and a privilege. Without realizing it, I came to love him almost immediately.

What a bright-eyed child, so full of wonder and curiosity! How could I not be proud of him? How could I _not_ occupy my days by forsaking my training in order to play with him, hours of senseless and endless sessions of peek-a-boo, which strangely, I never tired of? Tai hardly complained, grinning, giggling and clumsily clapping his tiny paws.

He was an instant favorite with the female servants working in the palace. I have no small delight in saying he was the most adorable little ball of fluff you had ever seen. He was a beautiful baby, and quickly became a rowdy toddler whose doe-eyed pouts got him whatever he wanted.

The terrible twos were…well, terrible. I longed for the days when he could still crawl; he didn't get into half as much trouble. He was still too young to recognize consequences yet, so even if I told him a stove was hot and would burn him, he would touch it anyway. It was how I learned; I figured if it was good enough for me, it was good enough for him.

I cherish the memory of the day he learned to walk. It is one of the proudest moments I have of him. We were sitting in the lily pad garden, and I was feeding him. He was perhaps, oh, 14 months old, and he smiled and reached out to me as the spoon of porridge came toward his mouth. He wasn't a fussy eater, at least when _I _was feeding him, and seemed to love spending every waking moment with me (what I mean is, _every _waking moment, which made it nearly impossible to get him to take naps).

In any case, he cooed and purred as kittens do, smiling wide as I fed him, his curious little paws reaching out towards me. That day, I got the first inclination of his strength as he reached out, grabbed hold of one of my whiskers, and tore it clean off my face. Well, it took all the discipline I had not to cry out and startle him; I can assure you, it hurt…a lot.

"No," I scolded him, wincing, and pressing my fingers to the now-bare patch on my muzzle, "We don't do that."

But he just giggled, trying to emulate the face I must have made, stuck his tongue out and squealed. Lets be honest, I couldn't help but chuckle and shake my head, "I'll give you this much, kid, it's a good thing you're cute."

I finished the feeding and stood up to wash the bowl in the pond. I had no problem leaving him alone for five minutes; he could only crawl…or so I thought.

"Baba!" he cried. I froze; his first word! I whirled around, and received yet another shock. He had leaned forward, pushing himself up onto his feet. He wobbled for a second or two, but once he was sure of his footing, he looked up at me, squealed and held out his arms. But he didn't stop there. I dropped the bowl in surprise as he took a step forward.

He almost toppled over, but if there was one thing he would be known for, it was determination. He corrected himself, grinned and took another step. I stared in awe, and could only stand and watch as he took two more steps forward, holding out his arms to me. He was so close…

Four more hurried steps, and he fell right into my waiting arms, cooing and looking quite pleased with himself. I couldn't hold back my elation, hugging him, kissing his forehead, which made him happier, nuzzling me and purring in my ear.

* * *

He was quick to show off his new-found skill to Oogway, who shared my pride in him.

"What a quick and avid learner! Most boys take much longer to walk and talk…" he stepped out of the way to let Tai pass, the toddler still squealing gleefully at his new skill. Oogway chuckled, catching him just as he started to fall back. Tai just smiled up at him and nuzzled his hand when he received a pat on the head.

Does it surprise you to think that the "scourge of the valley" was once an adorable toddler who absolutely loved both his father and the Grand Master? His first word may have been "Baba", but he quickly started calling Oogway "Yeh-yeh" and, once I began to train again, the cub emulated the sounds I made. "Hiya" and "Hooah" became instant favorites of his, along with "no" once he got older.

By the time he was two, he was such a little ball of energy, it was difficult to keep up. He learned to run, and made it nearly impossible to chase after him. I don't know where he got all that energy, but he seemed to get up in the morning and run all day, sometimes skipping naps, then about eight 'o clock at night, would just simply curl up and fall asleep wherever he desired.

At three, I began reading to him at bedtime, filling my days by telling him fairy tales and later, stories about great kung fu masters.

By the time he was four, he had quite the vocabulary as a result of our readings and storytelling, and could already read and write a few characters. He asked me what the symbols meant one night, as I was reading to him, and I started pointing them out and saying them, teaching him to read. It was yet another skill he picked up and executed flawlessly, once I taught him.

One day, as I was teaching him to write by drawing characters in the sand with a stick, he asked me, "Baba, are you a master?"

I'm surprised he hadn't asked me sooner. I suppose instinctively he knew I wasn't a normal father (and I wasn't), and that most fathers had careers that were, well, useful to some degree. Carpenters, bakers, soldiers, and the like…and I suppose I could have said "No, son, I am a teacher" but I had not taught kung fu to anyone for five years, so that hardly made me a teacher. Technically, I _was_ teaching my son to read and write, but this was more of a right and necessity, not something that came with my job description, if there was one. So I answered, "Yes, son, I am."

"Why don't you train?"

"I do whenever I can."

"I don't have any brothers," he pouted. I chuckled, catching his meaning. I didn't have any students, almost five years after the Cataclysm, which, truthfully, was still ongoing. Rong Lang had, in the past five years, grown only more ruthless and bloodthirsty, squashing any rebellion, no matter how small, by killing the conspirators and their entire families, and in more extreme cases, entire clans. It was this reason, I theorized, that he brutally murdered as many snow leopards as he could; if they had known about Xue Shan, who had been the hope for their people…well, I have no doubt our next emperor might've had spots instead.

"Would you like a brother or sister?" I asked.

Tai thought about it, and I realized that for the first time, he had few children his age to play with. Something about him seemed more mature than other four-year-olds, probably because he spent so much time with older adults. I had my reasons for sheltering him, of course. I couldn't take him out of the palace, because I feared losing him. Rong's soldiers still patrolled the valley, baiting me to come down so they could arrest me, and probably execute me. I was not about to risk it with my son.

Tai said finally said something that hurt to hear: "I dunno…but what I really want is a mommy."

I swallowed hard and fought the urge to cry, "You did have a mommy," I said.

"When?"

I paused, thinking how to word it. "She…she loved you very much," I said, even though Yeying had never met him. I'm sure she would have loved him as I did. "But she's gone somewhere far away."

"Oh. Can we go see her? Please? I'll be real good, promise!"

I smiled sadly, ruffling the fur on his head, "No son, she's too far away to visit."

"Where is she?"

It broke my heart to finally admit it, "Heaven. She's in Heaven."

I knew he wouldn't understand. He was too young. I knew I would have to explain it later. When it finally dawned on him that my wife was long dead, I remember him being disconsolate for weeks. It hurt me to see him in such pain, no matter how much I assured him she loved him; wherever she was in Heaven, I _knew_ she loved him.

Oogway graciously pulled him aside one day and explained Heaven to him. After that conversation, the cub was in better spirits. My master later told me what he had told him,

"I was honest, and told him Yeying never met him. He was sad to hear it, of course, but I explained that sometimes, the departed come to us in our dreams and meditations. I told him that she is in a better place, where she can easily watch over him and protect him, and that I know she loves him and it proud of him."

I will be forever grateful for that.

* * *

He was five. I had no idea what his real birthday was, so we celebrated the day he was discovered as his birthday. I regret to say I spoiled him that day. He got toys, and lots of them, but both Oogway and I were amazed that he shunned the balls, games and even the books he usually loved. Instead, he received a special gift from someone I hadn't heard from in five years.

Though Ochir had left, he apparently had found a niche for himself in Mongolia, and opened a school, just like he'd always wanted; it was the first time I heard that he had recruited nearly one thousand students. Borte lived there too, and suddenly came upon the news that I was a father. So, the day of his birthday celebration, Tai received a gift from the "aunt" and "uncle" he never met.

It was a stuffed panda, nice and fat with all the fluffy stuffing. The bear's monochromatic "fur" was velveteen and it had little black button eyes that shone and sparkled like gemstones. Even the embroidered smile made the toy come alive. Tai grinned and squealed when he got it and hugged it immediately and wouldn't let it go; before long, he took it with him everywhere. That bear, named Tai Ping, "Peace and Security", was well-loved, sharing his bed every night with his favorite blanket, taking it with him throughout the day, the snow leopard cub treating it as if it were a sentient being.

One day, during my training, Tai was sitting under the tree in the courtyard playing with the toy. He was pointing at me, whispering things to the stuffed panda; I smiled at his creativity. They say children who have imaginary friends in their toddler years are much more creative and are capable of accomplishing more as adults because of it. Yes, even when he was five, I should have foreseen all he would accomplish.

I turned away for just a moment, but when I turned back, he was gone.

I panicked, running around frantically, calling for him. Then I feared with ever-increasing dread that he had wandered into the Training Hall, which was forbidden to him. It was simply too dangerous. I raced over. Just as I got to the door, I discovered the panda toy sitting in the doorway, and I heard my son speaking to it…

"Look, Tai Ping! One day, I'm gonna be just like my daddy and do kung fu too! See, I can do it, watch!"

I looked around the corner, saw him smile at the toy, determined to prove himself to it. He turned and started to stalk along the floor; then I spotted the Adversary. Transfixed, I watched closely as he slowly stalked up to the dummy, a determined, if slightly devilish look on his face. He batted it with his paw; when it teetered, he sprung to his feet, and kicked it. It _flew_ across the floor at a speed I had never seen, hitting the opposite wall hard enough to knock loose a couple weapons propped up against the wall. I gaped. He turned round and smiled, seeking approval.

Finally, I smiled. Grinned, in fact. I could hardly believe it. Just by watching me train daily to keep up my form, Tai had picked up kung fu…by _watching_ and _imitating_. This was a discovery I could not take lightly.

* * *

Oogway was thrilled. "Wonderful! I had a feeling about that."

"I can't believe it," I said after Tai had gone to bed. We were in the Hall of Warriors, organizing the Thousand Scrolls of Kung Fu; I was hoping to convince him to allow me to train my son in "the family business", as it were. "I mean, he _is_ the right age to start, if he wants…"

"I think he does, old friend," my master said with a smile. "Did you not hear him say 'I want to be just like my daddy'? He looks up to you, and loves you, and like any son, wants to emulate you."

"So you're saying…if I wanted to…"

"You have my blessing. I have a feeling the boy will do well; kung fu seems to be in his blood."

Instead of feeling pride, I felt a chill. So did Oogway. We shared a look, and I finally asked, "You think he's…_his_ son, don't you?"

He caught my meaning; since the betrayal, we never said…_his_ name within the palace walls. "I would, if I thought he _looked_ like him," my master confessed.

"You don't think there are similarities?" I meant physical similarities, like having his nose, or smile, or…something. Of course, that's not what my master meant:

"There is the potential. But there is a key difference between Red Claw's student and Tai Lung. As far as physical similarities, I see none. Psychological, on the other hand…one had been tainted with hate from the very beginning. Tai Lung has received nothing but love and support, and will continue to. If we are careful, instill only the noblest virtues in him, train him and teach him to respect all forms of life and to honor kung fu as a way of life and a way of protection, not force, then I predict Tai Lung may very well be the greatest warrior China has ever seen."

My heart swelled with hope and pride. The greatest warrior in kung fu history…in Chinese history…in _world_ history! And he would be _my_ student…my _son_! My eyes immediately trailed up the wall and to the ceiling, where an impressive golden dragon was embedded in the ceiling, holding in his jaws the most sacred text of Kung Fu: The Dragon Scroll.

So many legends surrounded it. It had been created by Master Oogway many centuries ago, and was supposed to hold the secrets to ultimate power. Whoever was bestowed the scroll would become the Dragon Warrior, the mythical warrior who was to bring peace to the land.

Oogway saw where my gaze had settled. "I do not advise you to seek false hope."

"What do you mean, master?"

"Do not assume anything. You can train Tai Lung in everything, he could very well master all these scrolls, _if_ it were possible, but he may not be worthy of the title."

"But didn't you just say that if we're careful…"

"The Dragon Warrior needs to be pure of heart and of pure soul. All I am saying is that there are no guarantees. There is the possibility, though. All things are possible; it may not be very probable, but it is possible."

Translation: don't get your hopes up.

But how could I not? Each day, news of the atrocities Rong Lang performed reached the Jade Palace, and I could see that with each massacre, each destroyed village or assassinated official of the old regime, it weighed heavily on my master…and me. The world of kung fu was severely divided, with some warriors loyal to Rong, and many, like us, opposed him and faced almost certain death if caught. Many great warriors either fell in battle with imperial forces or lost their heads in their rebellion.

I shielded Tai from the worst of it, wanting him to keep his childhood as long as possible. Too many children had lost parents and childhoods across the empire, and I was determined my son would not be one of them. I wanted his childhood to be as normal and happy as mine had been.

But how could I not have held out hope? It was all I had left. I couldn't give into despair, not now, not when I had a reason to live. And how could I not dream of it? My heart sunk when my master said only the pure of heart and of pure soul could be the Dragon Warrior—it meant I was out of the running; I had reacted and killed in blind rage and my heart was still heavy with hate and regret…no amount of ceremony and blessings from holy men could ever make me pure.

But finding purity in the time following the Cataclysm was rare—not even monks in the remotest parts of the empire could be considered pure, for even they despised Rong's regime and wished unseemly curses upon that damned wolf's head, breaking a firm tenet of their religion. The Cataclysm—with a capital "C"—was already being called the most violent time in China's history, and sadly, Master Oogway had to agree with that.

So you see, if any time in the empire's history did we need peace, and a powerful warrior to bring it, it was now. The problem was whether or not we could stand to last fifteen more years of Rong's ruthless, bloodthirsty reign. Fifteen years was all I needed to take Tai Lung from a soft cuddly cub into a hard ultimate fighter, so he could deliver us from Rong's wrath.

* * *

I started Tai's training the next day. I began slowly, with tai chi and meditation practice. I developed his flexibility. We worked on katas from dawn until dusk. Every day he was exhausted, and I started to pull back a little; I didn't want to strain him and make him regret his decision. Two weeks after his training began, he said to me, "Learning to be you is _tough_."

"Then try not to be me—try to be _you_. You're not going to learn everything right away; these things take time."

One day, after he turned six, he interrupted me during meditation. "Baba, what's a cataclysm?"

My eyes shot open, "How did you hear about that?"

He looked bashful. "I overheard some of the ducks talking…it sounded like a bad thing. Is it really bad?"

"I'd rather you didn't ask."

"They said the Dragon Warrior is the only one to stop the bad guys. I heard they did a lot of bad things, but I don't know what they are. No one will tell me."

I wanted to have a stern talking-to with whoever discussed the ongoing war in front of my son. In all likelihood, he had been eavesdropping, but I was still concerned with his innocence.

"Baba, what's 'murder' and 'massacre' mean?"

Oh, gods. He was too young to know. How could I tell him? "You're too young to know," I finally said. "But both of them are really bad things. People who do those things don't go to Heaven."

"Oh." He sounded distraught about this. "Did Mommy die in the Cataclysm?"

I took a deep breath. "Yes."

"Baba," he whispered, "is the Emperor a bad guy? Did he hurt Mommy?" I felt my pulse spike. He was old enough to know that speaking against the emperor was treason. He was old enough to know that the current ruler was a tyrant, and a monster. Theoretically, he was old enough to know what murder was…but I couldn't bring myself to tell him.

"Let's not talk about this now," I said, bidding him to sit for meditation. "Instead, let us think about how the acorn, small as it is, can grow to become a mighty oak…"

* * *

"You have a right to be worried," Oogway told me. "But it may be for the best that he knows about it soon."

"I didn't want him to lose his innocence," I confessed.

"Telling him there is real evil in the world is not a sin. If he knows the difference between good and evil, he will be a better warrior. He needs to know the truth…" he paused. "If you are uncomfortable telling him, I will."

"Thank you."

* * *

I eavesdropped on their discussion, hoping that Tai would come to understand, and that my master would not disappoint. As always, he didn't. He had Tai in the Sacred Hall of Warriors, and was taking him on the grand tour. They stopped at each artifact and my master told the story behind it; I watched my son's eyes fill with wonder, then chattered incessantly, asking question after question until he was satisfied.

Then Oogway showed him the Thousand Scrolls, and the Dragon Scroll. I strained my ears to listen closely.

"Will you ever make someone the Dragon Warrior?" Tai asked.

"Someday. The right warrior has yet to come forward."

"Baba says the Dragon Warrior needs to be pure."

"He's right. He also needs to have a berth of knowledge about kung fu, and heed its lessons." He patted my son's head. "You will be a great warrior, Tai Lung. Do you know how I know?"

"How, Yeh-yeh?"

"Because you feel sympathy, you know right from wrong, but there are certain things you need to learn."

"Baba says he's going to teach me to read _all_ those scrolls!" he said excitedly. I smiled; at six, he was already a voracious reader, grasping as many documents as he could. He was as ravenous for reading material as he was for training.

"An admirable goal," my master agreed. "But there are life lessons you need to learn that scrolls cannot teach." He sighed, "You asked what 'murder' was."

"I know it's a bad thing…"

"It is a very bad thing. Murder means to take away someone's life…to kill."

My son was silent for a moment, then he asked quietly, "That means…someone makes someone else go to Heaven, and they can never come back?"

"Yes. It also means that they do something most unforgivable. People say murder is the most unforgivable act a person can commit. But I say the worst crime is theft."

"Why's that, Yeh-yeh?"

"You steal someone's property, you deprive them of the right to own it. Murder steals someone's right to live, and steals a husband from his wife, a father from his son, a brother from his brother. To act selfishly is a terrible sin. But the worst sin of all is pride. Pride will lead to the belief that you can have whatever you want, no matter if you are worthy of it or not."

Tai just nodded, outwardly understanding. He was looking right back up at the Dragon Scroll, and I could tell from the rigid back and laid-back ears that he was thinking of something, and thinking hard. Oogway stood back, waiting patiently for the question that was bound to come.

"Yeh-yeh," Tai said. "The Emperor's a really bad guy, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is."

"One of the servants said he's not the real emperor."

My master sighed, "Unfortunately, child, he is. It may be treason to speak against the Emperor…but he knows me. He wouldn't dare set foot on my property, which includes the village below. But he has sworn to bring harm to Shifu if he were to leave these walls…"

I winced, then was outraged; how could he tell something like that to my six-year-old? Tai gasped and looked at him fearfully, and I had to hold myself back from going over and hugging him, letting him know that everything would be alright. But Oogway was already a step ahead of me. "It is important for you to understand, Tai Lung, why your father never leaves the palace, nor wants _you_ to leave yet. The Emperor's soldiers patrol the village, and have orders to arrest Shifu on sight…if not kill him outright…"

"But they won't hurt him! You can't let him get hurt, Yeh-yeh!" he pleaded, distraughtly tugging on his arm.

"I don't intend him to get hurt, as I do not want you to get hurt. I would not put it past Rong Lang to get to Shifu through you, so promise me, Tai Lung, _promise me_ that you will not leave this palace until you are ready to defend yourself."

"If I stay put, that means Baba's safe?"

"If you do as you're told, your Baba will be safe."

Tai nodded in understanding, looked back up at the Dragon Scroll…and I could see the determination in his eyes. "Just watch, Yeh-yeh, one day, I'm gonna be the best warrior ever, and then I can make sure Baba never gets hurt. Never _ever_!" he shook his head, putting his foot down in a show of purpose and iron will.

My master chuckled, patting him on the head, "Good. Perhaps I can help you start…" he walked over to the shelves holding the thousand scrolls, scanned the shelf at eye level and took one out. "Here, I think this is a good place to commence…"

Tai's ears perked in interest, and he hop-skipped over to the sage. "What is it?"

Oogway unrolled the scroll on a desk and pointed it out. "Leopard style kung fu."

Tai grinned, clearly impressed there was a style of kung fu named for his species; he hopped onto the stool in front of the desk and listened intently as my master began teaching the cub his first lesson in kung fu philosophy.

I let out a sigh of relief. Crisis averted.

* * *

At the time, Tai didn't recognize it was strange that his Baba looked nothing like him, and was, in fact, an entirely different species. The day he realized he was adopted was a hard one, particularly because he was so young when he learned it. I told him how we found him; I left out the word "abandoned", instead replacing it with "given to us to keep you safe" to lessen the blow. When I told him the stories about his people, I remember how his eyes shone with wonder, and how his imagination soared with the impressive feats that one such snow leopard—Tai Lee—had been an engineering genius hundreds of years before his time.

"If you liked him so much, why he didn't come here?" he innocently asked me, clearly desperate to learn more about his species. I started to answer him, but then I stopped, staring at the cub. It couldn't be…but then it hit me. Tai Lung looked nothing like Xue Shan—something I was grateful for—but instead, the child bore a remarkable resemblance to the gifted engineer from the Dragon's Lair. Hadn't Shan said Min Lung had been married to…but it was impossible, it had to be. Every single snow leopard on that mountain was massacred…weren't they?

* * *

Two years later, shortly before Tai's seventh birthday, my master pulled me aside and gave me some astounding news. Though he was only seven, and had been training only two years, Tai Lung had read…and _mastered_…over 130 of the Thousand Scrolls of Kung Fu.

"You're kidding," I gaped. "That's…that can't be possible. He'd have to average sixty-six scrolls a _year_…"

"Precisely," my master smiled. "I think he's going for it."

"He's trying to master all one thousand?" I tried wrapping my mind around the concept. I knew the child was bright, but even the most dedicated kung fu master in history had never been able to accomplish mastering the Thousand Scrolls. At the rate Tai Lung was going…he was attempting to accomplish this by the time he was twenty, at the rate of almost six a _month_! "Is he _trying_ to kill himself?"

Oogway chuckled. "I wondered the same thing. But I've been watching him. Have you noticed, recently, that he seems so much more dedicated to training in the training hall, on the course you created?"

I had—in fact, Tai Lung had complained that it "wasn't tough enough". To answer his demand for something more challenging, I updated the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors, adding more of them, more spokes, more limbs, which kept my student on his toes. He'd hit his head on a swinging limb more than once. This only furthered his drive to work on his reflexes, but nothing I came up with—or was comfortable with giving him—suited his purposes.

So I added the twirling serpents over a pool of water. He struggled on them at first, but it helped him better his footing. By this time, he was suggesting things that I felt were unheard of: pits of burning coals to walk bare-footed over…on both feet and hands; swinging clubs that were heavy enough to cause a life-threatening concussion; and a pit of fire that spit up flames at random intervals. Eventually, I caved and granted him the latter two. The reason the training hall is the most difficult in history is thanks to my most talented student.

But there was a stipulation: I would not grant these requests until he mastered 500 scrolls. "No problem," he said, and I surmised he would forget about it, given how long it would take for him to master over 470 scrolls.

Damned if he didn't do it by the time he turned eleven, the little punk.

But Oogway wasn't done with the news.

"I also got correspondence from the Miao clan. It seems that Chancellor Miao has actually kept his position in Rong's administration. He's safe at home, as a magistrate for the province, but it seems that his wife is rather curious as to why you never informed her she had a grandson…"

I smiled; "Grandma Li" was coming for a visit.

* * *

"How come Grandma hasn't come here before?" Tai asked as he was preparing a guest room. Part of his training also included a strict schedule of chores. Part of it was my doing; I selfishly intended for him to spend less time studying the scrolls so I didn't have to fulfill my promise of making the training hall that much more dangerous. The chores also had the chance to break down that natural feline arrogance. And you know what? It didn't work.

"Travel has not been safe for the past seven years," I explained as I watched him wash and wax the floor. His next chore was to wash the bed linens and clean out the closet and wardrobe, something that would take at least two days; he was done by the end of the day, of course. _Of course_.

"Will she like me?" he asked, with just a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Undoubtedly, she will come to love you as I have," I responded with a smile. This appeared to cheer him up a little, but he wasn't entirely convinced until Miao Li showed up.

She loved him at first sight. He relished in the maternal attention he was getting, having never experienced it before. She had brought a gift from her husband, which made my son ecstatic.

"The Art of War! Awesome!" he grinned.

"Ahem," I reminded him of his manners.

"Oh, yeah," he bowed to Miao Li, "Thank you, honored Grandmother."

"Oh for the love of the gods!" Miao Li griped, "For _Heavens sake_, child, call me 'Grandma' like my other grandchildren. 'Honored Grandmother', indeed!"

Tai Lung didn't know how to answer to that; I realized how he'd never met any women like Miao Li…or Yeying. Most of the female servants in the palace were not exactly "strong-willed women" like my wife had been. I'm not sure how deeply their influence taught him about Chinese women—I wouldn't know until many years later when he fought Master Tigress at the Thread of Hope; had I known, I would've beaten sense into him.

"Tai Lung, son, why don't you show your Grandma everything you've learned this week?" I suggested. He was only too eager to oblige. He set the treasured tome down and proceeded to show off his perfected moves, and practice the ones I had taught him earlier that week. Miao Li and I sat under the tree, watching him perform katas across the courtyard of the Training Hall.

"He's skilled," she said after a long—and awkward—silence.

"He is," I agreed.

"How old did you say he was?"

"Seven."

"Goodness, he _is_ quite skilled. I don't remember learning those moves until I was at least five years older."

"Same here. Yeying learned it at nine, though—I was always pretty jealous of that."

So there it was, the opened box of chaos, letting out all the fears and evils that had been so careful imprisoned in it, infesting the world with darkness. Miao Li nodded and sighed.

"Seven years," she shook her head. "I can still see her."

"I know; it's the same for me. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of her, how she'd feel about all of this, how she'd treat our son…"

"_Your_ son?" she asked with a raised brow. "You don't honestly call him your _son_ do you?"

"He _is_ my son," I said firmly. "I adopted him, I'm raising him, I'm being a father to him—he is my son."

"You'd do well to keep that a secret, Shifu."

"Why?" I was holding in my temper. How dare she question the validity of my parenthood!

"Because Rong Lang will use that knowledge to hurt you…by getting to you through _him_," she pointed at the cub performing kicks and punches, completely oblivious to our conversation.

"He wouldn't dare," I growled.

"Would you put it past that weasel?" she sneered. "He's done it plenty of times before. My husband needs to keep his own feelings about 'our illustrious emperor' a secret, or risk losing his head. We had to disown our youngest son in order to protect him and his family—he was speaking out against Rong, and, well, we had to cut the strings to protect the rest of us. That was the wake-up call he needed, it silenced him."

"You disowned your own son?"

"I see you haven't left the Jade Palace for the past seven years," she sighed. "It's the same story all over the empire; in order to save entire clans, they kick out dissenters in order to save their own skins. Rong's prisons are overcrowded with political prisoners, and the gods only know what they do to those poor people in there. I've heard the rumors…" she trailed off, not wanting to go on. Somehow _not_ knowing what methods of torture and death were used on political prisoners gave me chills as if I had known all along.

"Shifu, as much as it pains me to say this," she said, looking me in the eye, "You may have to disown Tai Lung as well."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

"Baba?" Tai Lung asked. "Did I do something wrong?"

Thank goodness he thought I was critiquing his form; hearing this conversation would kill him. "No, son, you're doing beautifully. But, it looks like you'll be late for your next scroll lesson with Master Oogway—you'd better run along or you'll be late."

"Oh. Okay." He bowed to me and Miao Li, "Thank you, Baba, Grandma. I'll see you at dinner!"

Miao Li smiled and waved at the cub as he rushed off for his lesson, then sighed heavily. "Do you want him hurt?"

"I am _not_ disowning my son! He's all I have!"

"I'm not telling you to kick him out of the palace! I'm not heartless. But I saw the guards in the village; they've heard rumors about Tai Lung. Some say he's just your student, others are a little more suspicious." She grasped my hand, "This is the hardest thing a parent can do for their child…but in public, no one can know who Tai Lung truly is. If you want to protect your son, you need to treat him as your student."

"I can't—"

"It's what Terbish did for Ochir."

"What?"

"Didn't you know? Terbish had many enemies, and if they saw his one weakness—his son—they would hurt him much more than if they had killed him outright. Losing a child is the worst thing that can happen to a parent—no parent should ever bury their own child…" her eyes welled up with tears and her voice broke. She quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeve and sniffed, "Forgive me…"

"No, do what you need to do," I said, patting her hand comfortingly. "Losing her almost destroyed me. Tai Lung gave me a reason to keep going. Raising him is a blessing, but honestly, I want to honor her memory too…"

"You mean a daughter?"

"Could you blame me?"

"No. Not at all." She paused, then glanced off in the direction her grandson had gone. "He is mastering the scrolls?"

"He's up past 135 now."

"He's _WHAT_?" she gaped. "One hundred thirty-two?! That's…that's unheard of! It's impossible! He's so young! How…? That can't be possible…he started when he was five?"

"Yes ma'am."

"So…he's seven now, with 132 scrolls…that's an average of sixty-six a year, with five to six in one month, almost two a week! At that rate, over a span of…180 months…oh dear Jade Emperor in Heaven…" She held her head in her hands; clearly, figuring out the mathematical calculations to my son's quest for glory was dizzying, and giving her a headache. I know it did for me.

I smirked, "If there's one thing I can safely say he shares with his mother and grandmother, its determination."

"And how."

* * *

Miao Li stayed for a week, during which she also taught Tai Lung some moves. Many of them Yeying had learned and taught herself. The boy was enraptured with the stories of his mother, and endlessly asked for more. It hurt me too much to talk about her at length; fortunately, Miao Li explained to him why I never spoke about my Yeying. He understood; such a smart boy.

The day Miao Li had to return home, I had not seen my son so depressed. Here was a family that he had never known before, and now that she was leaving, he was already starting to miss her. We stood at the entrance to the Arena, and we hugged her, Tai Lung holding the embrace as long as he could.

Say what you want about him, but that child loved his Grandmother.

* * *

"I want to go to the village," he said one day after breakfast. "I've never been, and I want to know whats down there."

He was ten, and dangerously close to having mastered four hundred fifty scrolls. This seemed to give him the idea that he was entitled to certain privileges, for which I was quick to remind him otherwise. Certain things, like staying up later some nights, having the occasional extra dessert, or giving him time off to play were about as far as I allowed myself to spoil him.

But this was out of the question. "Absolutely not."

"But why not?!" he asked, his temper rising. "I know enough kung fu to protect myself if I need to! Those stupid guards can come and get me if they want! I'll show them!"

"No!" I snapped. "We've had this discussion, Tai Lung. Kung fu is only to be used in defense, not attack. If they attack you, then it is permissible. Don't go looking for trouble."

"But if I get someone to go with me, can I still go?"

"I don't know, _can_ you?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes, "_May_ I go?"

"No."

"Come on!"

"No! I am not risking anything happening to you!"

"Baba, I'm ten years old! I know more kung fu that even _you_ knew at my age; Master Oogway said so himself! I can handle myself!"

"I don't care what Master Oogway says. You are forbidden to leave the Jade Palace until you can prove that you're ready to do battle."

"When?" he challenged. I was absolutely aghast. He had never spoken out of turn or talked back to me before…what had changed? "When and how? When am I going to get the chance to prove myself if I never leave?"

"Enough!" I snapped. "This discussion is over…"

"This isn't a discussion," he said, crossing his arms, "It's a negotiation."

"And what you've put on the table is not enough to convince me. Go to your desk, learn your scrolls."

"But…"

"_Now_, young man."

He huffed and stormed off, and I groaned. His temper rarely abated, even after a few hours; he put my temper and Yeying's to shame. Knowing this, I knew I'd be in for it later. I had no idea how right I was.

* * *

When I went to check on his progress an hour later, he wasn't at his desk. I sought out my master, thinking Tai Lung would be with him. To my horror, Master said, "He hasn't been studying at all today. He asked to go to the village for the day."

"And?"

"I let him."

"WHAT?"

"He said he had your permission."

He had said this so calmly, as if it were no crisis at all, but I was…what is the term? "Flipping out"?

"You can't be serious!" I roared. "You let him go, _alone_?!"

"Shifu, he'll be fine."

"FINE? With Rong's guards hounding my every step?! With his life hanging in the balance, and everyone in the valley knows he's my son, my student? And you're telling me he's going to be _FINE_?!"

"Shifu, stop," he said calmly. "You're making a scene."

"I'll give you a scene! When I find that boy, I'll tan his hide _so fast_…"

"Shifu, relax," my master said firmly. "You don't have enough faith in him. If he gets into a scuffle, well, he's stronger than most of those soldiers anyway. Besides, if he _does_ get into trouble, he has the good old stand-by to get him out."

"What stand-by?"

He chuckled, "Did you not see the last scroll he was working on?"

Then I remembered: Tiger style kung fu. That knowledge alone should have told me he'd be just fine on his own…but it was his first time outside palace walls.

What could happen to him down there? How many soldiers were still patrolling? What were they armed with? Were they out for blood, ruthless killers, child killers, with no morals who would do horrible things to my cub? Where was he? What was he _thinking_?! I need to go down there!

But I stopped myself at the door. If I stepped out…how did I know they weren't waiting for me? How did I know I wouldn't be ambushed?

I was cowardly enough not to pull open those doors. Instead, I waited by them, my flute in hand, ready to rap it over his fuzzy little head when he got back.

If he got back.

* * *

It was well after sundown when the doors finally pushed open. I was worn out from endless worry and anger at him having disobeyed me. My heart jumped, and I waited. Was it a villager come to tell me he was hurt, dead, or worse? Was it a guard defying Oogway's threat having come to arrest me?

Fortunately, it was neither of these things. Tai Lung walked through the doors, just as the servants were ready to lock up for the night. When he turned around and spotted me, he froze.

I'm not sure how I looked at that moment, but rest assured, I was pissed.

"Um…hi?" he said.

I was ready to scream "did you have any idea what you were doing? How dare you disobey me! I raised you better than that, you ungrateful little spoiled brat!"

Instead, I dropped my flute and hugged him.

My son was safe at home, my Tai Lung, as precocious as a young adolescent as he had been as a toddler…and I had nearly lost my mind thinking I had lost him. I hugged him and only let go when he hissed, "Baba, c'mon, you're embarrassing me… I didn't get into any trouble…"

I gave him "the look"—most people know it; it's the look a parent uses on their child to extract truths. Every time I used it on Tai Lung, it worked.

"Honest!" he stammered. "I got lost in the market, but I met this villager who took me in. He was very kind, and he let me stay for supper, and he brought me back here right after."

"So you were never in any danger?"

He shook his head, "No, Baba, I just got lost. But he helped me find my way back."

I sighed, relieved, _Thank the gods…_"Good, excellent. Can you remember his name? I'd like to thank him personally for helping you…"

"Who?"

"The villager who helped you," I reminded.

"Who?"

Now I was worried. Had he hit his head, and didn't remember? "The villager who found you lost in the crowd, and took you home."

"Who," he emphasized, looking confused.

"Tai Lung, the name of the villager who brought you into his home, fed you dinner and brought you back to the Jade Palace…"

"Who!" he yelled.

"That's what I want to know!" I shouted.

He sighed in that theatric way young adults are apt to, then crossed his arms stubbornly, rolling his eyes as if I were an idiot. "_No_, Baba; that was his _name_!"

I groaned, running a hand down my face.

Not Who; Hu.

Ochir was right, it _was_ a rather stupid name.

And Li was right too; that joke was going to last centuries, at this rate.

"Baba?" my son asked. "Can I go to bed? I'm really, really tired."

"I don't know, can you?"

He sighed and rolled his eyes again, "_May_ I go to bed early tonight?"

My heart was still hammering, my ears still sounding like gongs, so entrenched in my panic of losing him, that I barely heard him. A part of me was absolutely aghast that he had the sagacity to be so calm when I had spent the better part of my day fearing an untold number of horrendous ends to that boy's life! But as he tried to hide an exhausted yawn, it calmed the rage inside me as my instincts kicked in.

No matter how frightened I was, his fear had to have been worse. It was his first time in the village, and getting lost in the crowd, all alone, with the ever-present threat from the patrolling troops, and not knowing a single person…perhaps it was that fear that had drained so much energy from him.

I took his hand and we walked back to the bunkhouse, my boy dragging his feet. He didn't even change into nightclothes; he fell right onto his bed, curled up and went to sleep.

I stayed there, watching him sleep, and smiling. I shouldn't have coddled him—he was eleven for heavens sake—but I admit, it was hard to admit I would have to let him go eventually. He was perfect, I thought. As his tail and ears twitched in his sleep, sure physical signs of dreaming, tears sprang to my eyes as I thought of how lucky I was.

Then I caught myself wondering what Yeying would think if she could see this.

My son. Her son. _Our_ son. Would she be standing here with me, watching our son sleep? Would she be the one to wake him in the morning, with breakfast ready and then begin training? Would she have been the one to teach him to read and write? Would she have been the one to cradle him in her arms when he was a baby, kiss away any bumps or bruises as a toddler, and teach him everything I could not?

I imagined her cheering him on when he perfected a move he had been practicing, celebrating every time he mastered a scroll, and making sure he always remembered to kiss his mother's cheek. I could see her teaching him manners, reading to him as he fell asleep at night, and tucking him in with a sweet kiss on his forehead.

The more I thought about it, the more my heart ached for her. The more I wished she could see our son. For that was how I saw him—Tai Lung was her son as much as mine. Had we not spoken of adopting a child soon, right before I lost her? She would have loved him, of that I'm sure.

And, perhaps, had she lived long enough to adopt him with me, to raise him side by side, Yeying would never have allowed our son to descend into darkness. You see, I am still so foolish as to blindly believe my wife could have ensured our boy became the Dragon Warrior; I was foolish enough to believe that had she lived, Tai Lung would have had a heart pure enough to have been granted the Dragon Scroll.

Such is an old man's folly.

But Miao Li was right. I was startled by how I acted when he had gotten lost in the village. If I had actually gone down there, and had the guards patrolling it had seen how panicked I was, they would not have thought twice about hurting him. As she said, they would have gotten to me through him, but my fate was nothing compared to what those sick bastards might have done to him.

I turned away from the doorway, utterly conflicted. I couldn't stop loving my son, I couldn't stop being proud of him…but if I wanted him to be safe, I had to. I had to put up thick walls around my heart; I had to toughen myself up. He had been learning mostly philosophy, and few practical applications of kung fu. If he was going to defeat Rong Lang and bring peace back to China, he needed to be harder than the wolf. He needed to be stronger, better, faster, the world's greatest warrior.

And in order to do that, I needed to become, as Li had put it once, "A total and complete hard-ass".

As much as it hurt me to do, the next day, when Tai Lung awoke, I told him that things were going to change drastically. I told him if he wanted to be the best warrior in the history of China—which he did—he had to stop calling me Baba. From then on, I was to be his Master. He was no longer my son; he was my student. We went from father and son to master and student. It broke _my_ heart to see _his_ heart breaking, but I think we both knew that, hard as it was, it needed to be done.

Be that as it may, I will never forgive myself for bringing such an abrupt end to his childhood.

* * *

Nine years later, right after Tai Lung celebrated his nineteenth birthday, we received some of the worst news possible. Rong Lang had completely squashed a peasant uprising somewhere in Nanjing, but instead of killing just the conspirators, he was taking it out on all peasants…and slowly, his path of destruction was coming our way.

"He wouldn't be stupid enough to come here," Tai Lung said. "Right, Master?"

"One can only hope," I said. "Personally, I've had so much of his nonsense that I'd welcome him here, just so I can beat the tar out of him myself."

"What, and not let me get in a few punches?"

I shared a wry smile with him, "A single punch from you might very well kill him."

"And that's a bad thing, how?"

"Shut up and go to the training hall. I want to see you pulverize the Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion."

"Master, _no one_ can do that…"

He should have stuck around for twenty years…

We were on our way up the steps to the training hall when a sharp cry overhead rang out. We barely had a chance to look up when a large brown shape sped down towards us.

Tai Lung reacted instantly, his instincts kicking into a higher gear than I had ever seen, attacking the flying menace with as unrestrained fury as I could ever expect. He jumped high in the air, swiping his claws at the flying beast, which screeched and dodged every strike.

The snow leopard kicked up suddenly, surprising the bird which admitted a loud squawk. Righting itself, it dove for my student, who dove for the ground, waited for the bird to get close enough, then pounced, pinning the animal to the ground. The bird drew its talons and sank them into his paw, which made him wince and fall back enough for the bird to free itself, and clip the cat with a sharp wing beat. Tai Lung reacted in kind, punching the bird up and over the wall, which he scaled easily.

I slammed open the doors to view the amazing aerial battle before me, cat and bird fighting furiously for dominance. Tai Lung took his chance and grabbed the bird one more time and finally slammed it into the ground.

The bird coughed, then…smiled…and laughed!

"Ha! Well done, young master Tai Lung! Your father's taught you well!"

Tai Lung lessened his hold a little, "How do you know me?"

"Your father and I go way back, to the Battle of Red Claw Ridge."

I finally saw the familiar plumage, and the fierce golden eyes. Like Ochir had said almost twenty years before, I had never been happier to see her.

"Borte!"

* * *

Master Oogway gave me time alone with Borte, who, I am pleased to say, looked just as radiant as I remembered her. However, the news she brought to me that day was anything but good.

"Rong Lang is gathering his forces for a major campaign. Kublai has told me that his spies in the Imperial City have stumbled on his plan: that damned wolf is coming for your head."

I swallowed hard, but resisted, "He's insane."

She smiled wryly, "Tell me something I don't know; Ochir knows, which is why he's coming here."

"What?! Is he out of his head? He'll surely be killed!"

"Not with the Anvil of Heaven at his back."

"The what of where?"

She chuckled, "That is the army of students he has trained. He calls them 'The Anvil of Heaven'; oh they are such a sight to see. He believes they are ready to finally rebel against Rong. One thousand soldiers total, to take down a tyrant."

"One thousand is a small force compared to the Imperial Army…"

"What if I told you they were one thousand _rhinos?_"

"Then I would recant my earlier comment." One thousand regular soldiers—bears, wolves, and various felines—were not much to stand against the emperor's personal guard. One thousand rhinos—that had been trained by Master Flying Rhino himself—well, it was no contest.

Borte smiled, "He and I are proud of those boys as any parent would be."

I caught something in her eye that astounded me. But, in some way, it also brought me some peace. I should have seen it sooner, perhaps when Tai Lung had received the stuffed panda bear for his fifth birthday…the letter that came with it had been signed by both Ochir and Borte.

"So, how long have you…?"

She smiled fondly, "A few years now. You know, at Red Claw Ridge, I wasn't much older than you at the time. I remember how…calm he was, how shrewd, a better soldier than any warrior I had ever met. I should have known then, but, what fools we are, you know?"

Oh, I knew. I had married outside my species and publicly celebrated it, but she gave no indication that she and Ochir had tied the knot. She sensed the question—she had a sixth sense for that. "We _are_, if you are curious. It was done in total secrecy. Only two other people know—Dong Li and Jian Ren."

How she'd found them when I hadn't heard from them still boggles my mind.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"We couldn't—we couldn't risk the news falling into the wrong hands. If our enemies knew, they would take it to their advantage and use it against us. Much the same way as you not referring to Tai Lung as your son—to protect him."

"To protect him, as well as myself; completely selfish, I know."

"Not as selfish as you might think. Why would we not want to keep our loved ones close? The key is to keep our enemies closer. It is cruel to look at it that way, but think: if Rong knew how you felt about your student, how quickly do you think he'd dispatch his guard to come and kill him? There, you see, you understand now."

"What else did you intend to tell me?" I asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Only that the battle is to occur soon. I saw the troops on their way to the Valley now, just a couple days away. Your 'Thread of Hope' will slow them down considerably, of course, but it won't stop them. They will come, and they will not leave until either they are dead, or you are."

"And what about Ochir?"

"He's already left, three days before I left Mongolia. He's making excellent time, and should be able to hold them off at the entrance to the bridge, on the other side of the Great Chasm."

"Will the thousand warriors be enough?"

Borte smirked, "You _clearly_ haven't seen my love for a few years…"

* * *

When we left my personal study, Tai Lung was nowhere to be found. This didn't bother me as much as it should have. He wasn't training in the Training Hall, so I figured he was off meditating, or perhaps having an early dinner before resuming his studies in the Hall of Warriors. He had only ten scrolls left to master, and the one he had been saving for that evening, he had asked about earlier that day: Nerve Attacks.

He wasn't in the kitchen, or his room, but I still wasn't bothered. I was curious, yes, but my mind refused to assume the worst. Since he had mastered 990 scrolls already by age nineteen, I didn't worry about him as much. By the time he was sixteen, I had no qualms sending him on errand trips to the village. He was safe—besides, like Rong's guards would dare attack a snow leopard that size, that strong, with a temper to rival my own? I don't think they would have dared.

I finally went to the Hall of Warriors. Even if he had eaten early, his presence at the dinner table was mandatory for every meal. It wasn't unusual for him to be late; sometimes during his studies he became so embroiled in his work he lost track of time.

When I pushed open

* * *

the heavy doors, I saw the Sacred Hall was empty. On the opposite wall, underneath the shelves of scrolls, was his desk, littered with papers, used brushes, and personal notes, with a single white candle still burning atop it.

I walked over, scanning the room for him. Sometimes he meditated after reading a scroll, thinking over what he had read and trying to decipher deeper meanings…but he wasn't anywhere to be found.

I finally hopped up onto the stool he usually occupied—it was still warm, as if I had just missed him. On the desk was an open scroll.

_Nerve attacks—How to disarm an opponent with the least force_.

Strange, hadn't I already taught him that strategy? No, this one required extensive knowledge of acupressure points and the flow of a person's chi. Sure enough, there was a manual for an acupuncturist's kit open on top of this scroll…and on top of that was a note.

_Master,_

_I mastered the 991__st__ scroll. Don't look for me. I'll be home soon._

At the bottom, written tentatively as if he almost faltered in writing it: _I love you, Baba._

My heart skipped a beat, and I swore it stopped. Tai Lung must have overheard my conversation with Borte.

He had gone to fight Rong's army.

* * *

Whoo, this was rough. I'm not sure I captured Tai's childhood as I wanted to, but I think I can get away with it, considering this is from Shifu's POV. I think it might've been a little rushed but, well, I didn't want this fic to go on for twenty more chapters, so I need to draw the line somewhere XD.

Read and review, please!


	19. Chapter 19

Before I begin, the following message is totally necessary:

THANK YOU! Thanks to all who have read, reviewed, or otherwise visited this fic, it is now, as of Sunday, March 1, 2009, my most-read work and—amazingly—the most popular piece of fiction I've ever written. Over 200 reviews?! I'm completely floored! Again, THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!

Disclaimer: I don't own it, please don't sue. Sorry for the long wait. This was a tough chapter to write; thanks for being so patient!

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

* * *

Chapter 19

* * *

"Well, that sounds familiar."

Tigress suddenly felt very uncomfortable under the scrutiny of the other five warriors. "_What?_"

"Tai Lung—he left to fight a big bad enemy, alone, to protect his master," Monkey said. "Who does that sound like?"

"How _dare_ you accuse me of—"

"Of what? Of loving Shifu like a daughter _should_ love her father?" Viper asked. "Or accuse you of being more like Tai Lung than you thought?"

"Tai Lung and I have _nothing _in common," Tigress snarled viciously, forcing the males to curl away in fear of the awe-inspiring awesomeness of her Flying Claws of Immediate Agony technique. But Viper wasn't impressed, for she was also female, and sported her own set of sharp implements of pain and torture…even if they'd taken longer than normal to grow for her species. She flashed her fangs in an uncharacteristically wicked grin, which—amazingly—calmed the tiger down.

Viper smirked; even if she lacked venom, her Deceptively Dangerous Grin defied her best friend's Fire-Hot Tempers. No venom, but damn if she didn't have a nasty bite. Only her closest friends knew she didn't have any venom. Everyone else—_including Tai Lung_, Viper thought with a satisfied smirk—saw the fangs and _freaked out_.

Sometimes, being a snake felt really, really good. "Are you finished?" she asked her friend, who nodded glumly, striped arms stubbornly crossed over her chest. "Good. And Monkey has a point, you know. You and Tai Lung _do_ have a lot of things in common."

"We're both cats."

"Well, yes," Monkey started, "but less obvious things, like being kung fu masters, being raised by Master Shifu, being or—"

"SHUT UP!"

Monkey gasped and drew back when Tigress got in his face, seething, a furious, dangerous light in the tiger's eyes. Tigress hissed darkly, claws drawn, "_What_ did you say, Monkey?"

The simian was completely and totally cowed, "I-I'm sorry, I forgot…"

"You _forgot_?!"

"Like Shifu's not going to mention you in these scrolls!" Monkey shouted to save himself. "He's mentioned you already; what makes you think he won't write down _your_ story like he did Tai Lung's?!"

The disturbingly murderous fire in her eyes was immediately doused; now, they looked panicked and frightened. "He…he wouldn't."

"What makes you think he'd leave you out? You're his best student."

"No, Tai Lung was his best student," she argued.

"Yeah, he _was_," Mantis pointed out, "Before he went into lock-down."

"Face it, you're the leader for a reason," Monkey said. "Shifu is going to mention you, and where you came from…whether you like it or not."

"Face it," she growled, returning to her chair and stubbornly crossing her arms, "He doesn't care enough about me to write anything; that's abundantly clear."

The simian fixed her with a significant look, "Is it?"

It was with this sickening dread that Tigress slumped down into her seat, looking like she had been struck by lightning. Po looked at her worriedly as he picked up the scroll. How bad was her past? Was Shifu harsher on her because of Tai Lung? And if so…how harsh had he been?

* * *

I was going to kill him.

First, I was going to worry, panic, rave at Oogway, the servants, and anyone else for letting him out of their sight. I was going to scour the valley, the mountains, lakes, rivers, every part of the Jade Emperor's green earth. I was going to do anything and everything I could to protect him.

Then I would kill him.

Why worry, you say? Why worry about a grown man who knows kung fu for cripes sake, could kill a garrison of gorillas with the flick of a finger and lay low a regiment of rhinos with just a single punch? Why worry if you trained him from infancy in kung fu? If he's nineteen, shouldn't you be cutting the apron strings?

To you, I say…clearly you've never been a parent.

It's a parent's duty to their children to worry. We Chinese (traditionally) are fond of telling children about their duties to their elders, but rarely do we ever hold the elders accountable for their children. If a child misbehaves, it's the parent's fault. If the child can't read while the rest of his class is on to reading the Classics, it's not the school's fault, it's the parents'. And in my case, if my child runs away…well, okay, whether or not it was _my_ fault is debatable. Either I had done something wrong, or he was just too stubborn for his own good.

A parent's duties to their children are: to love them, to teach them, to hold them to a higher standard than everyone else, to care for them when they are sick, to worry about them whenever they are out of your sight, and to cherish them more than life itself.

So there I was, dashing through the grounds like a chicken with its head cut off, panicking and raging all at the same time.

Borte landed right in front of me, wingspan barring my way, "Shifu, for the Sky God's Sake! SETTLE DOWN."

"How can I be calm when my student has run off to get himself killed?!"

"You don't know that—" I shoved his note in front of her beak; she paused, then said, "I take it back—he's in trouble."

"How many is Rong sending?" I demanded.

"I don't know—a few thousand? It was difficult to tell from my altitude."

"I need to find Oogway, there has to be something…"

"No, Shifu," she said, "Go after your son—I will find Oogway and tell him what's happening."

"I can't leave the palace—I'll be executed!"

"Damn you, you stupid oaf!" she snapped her beak. "What's more important, _your_ life, or _his_?!"

My mind flashed back to the memory of the first time Tai Lung went down to the village alone. I had been afraid to leave and bring him back, because I knew I would surely be killed. After he had returned safely, and after I had ruminated on it for quite some time, I realized I had been such a coward. A real parent wouldn't care about their own well-being, or put themselves before their child.

I sighed and nodded. "How will you find me?"

Borte only smiled, "I'll see you from the air, my friend. Now hurry—that boy of yours is faster than any snow leopard I've ever seen. Fare well, my brother in arms!"

* * *

I didn't bother to arm myself; I took a bamboo staff and the clothes on my back. It was foolish and foolhardy, I know, but as I tore down the same path that my son had left behind, I was reminded of an event similar to this in my life many years before. The last time I had taken this route in such a manner, I was racing to intercept Khan at the Battle of Red Claw Ridge.

This time, I was racing to intercept Tai Lung before he got himself killed.

As it had been years before, it took me three days to get to the Chasm and the Thread of Hope. I was hopelessly behind my student, who was always much faster than I, even if I had been right on his tail.

Two and a half days passed since I left the Jade Palace, with no one in my way, and none to oppose my path; a small miracle. I could see the tall spires of rock jutting out of the chasm like fangs from a monster's mouth, only a mile ahead.

I stopped long enough to check that I was still on Tai Lung's trail. I found one of his footprints in the dirt; I pressed my fingers into the impression, starting to harden. He had only been through there a day before. But judging from the depth of the impression, he had been going fast, very fast. I needed to keep up if I intended to catch up to him.

As I continued on my way, the sun began to rise in front of me, blinding my way. I had been running all night. If I was slowed in my journey, those fiery rays were bound to slow down my pupil, whose eyes were much more sensitive than mine to begin with. Though I wouldn't put it past him to continue at break-neck speed anyway; when it came to training, he didn't care how much pain he put himself through, or how many bones he broke.

I heard a cry overhead, and looked up, spotting Borte high above me. But she was too high to warn me of the threat at ground level…

I skidded to a halt as the stone gateway to the Thread of Hope loomed into view. On the granite steps leading up to the flimsy bridge stood a company of no less than fifteen gorillas in Imperial uniforms. Those gorillas, however, were little more than hired goons, mercenaries probably paid an obscene amount of money for their loyalty. The minute they spotted me, they grinned maliciously.

"Shifu."

"That's _Master_ Shifu, punk," I growled. "Get out of my way."

"I don't think so," the ringleader mocked. "We're under orders by His Excellency Emperor Rong…"

I spit on the ground at the wolf's name. "His Excellency, my eye! If you know what's good for you, you will let me pass, now."

The other gorillas snickered and brandished their weapons. "No way," the leader guffawed. "You take one more step, and your head is mine."

I knew I was in trouble. While they had pole arms, axes and maces, I was armed with just a staff. Somehow, this situation felt oddly familiar…

That was when I recognized the ringleader…and smirked triumphantly. "Hello, Tiny."

The gorilla froze, then paled. "Wait…you're that pipsquea—"

I struck, jumping up and grabbing him by the nostrils and slamming him down into the ground, propelling myself up to deliver a dozen kicks apiece to the next two gorillas behind him. I swung my staff out and knocked another in the head, two more jabbed between the eyes, one butted in the stomach, and another's pressure points hit with a nerve strike from the very tips of my fingers.

Eight down, seven to go. I jumped onto one's shoulders and hit the back of his neck, snapping it instantly. As he fell, I swung myself up onto a tree limb and launched myself off, twirling my staff and hitting another in the head with a sharp crack, splitting his head open. Ten down, five more…

I back-flipped, landing on Tiny's back and smirking at the audible crunching of his ribs. One gorilla came at me with his mace high over his head. I grabbed a handful of dirt and flung it in his face, making him cry out and double back into the one behind him. With a swift roundhouse kick I sent both of them teetering over the edge of the chasm, and then they fell, the poor wretches disappearing into the mists with horrified shrieks.

The last three looked ready to lose their nerve, until they all decided to gang up at once. I was losing too much time, and if I wanted to catch up to Tai Lung, I needed to end this fast. I decided to forgo my staff and struck open-handed attacks, disarming the three instantly, then flung one over my shoulder. He tried grasping at the bridge's ropes and missed…another victim to the chasm.

At this point, I had given up on mercy. Rong, and any of his followers, did not deserve it. In quick succession, the last two met the same fate as the other three, and by this point, the ones I had injured were either too injured to move or had already fled in a disgusting act of cowardice.

When I looked back at Tiny, I stalked over, yanked him up to meet me eye to eye and hissed in his face, "My name is not 'Pipsqueak'. My name is _Shifu_."

With a sharp jab to his forehead, I knocked him unconscious…though I probably should have killed him. Nevertheless, I never heard from him again, so I assume he learned his lesson after I literally knocked sense into him.

Borte landed right next to me, casting a quick glance at Tiny's unconscious body. "You should just throw him into the chasm."

"There's no honor in that," I said. "He's stupid, thus harmless."

"He's an ally of Rong; he is anything _but_." She paused and sighed, "I flew ahead. Tai Lung is nearly to the other side."

"Already?"

"If you let me fly you over, we'll get there right before he does."

I gulped and looked out over the Thread of Hope, that rickety old bridge that had probably had more than one reincarnation in the entire Valley's history. Needless to say, dangling precariously from Borte's talons—strong as she was—was very unnerving. I had very little issue with heights…it was the long drop and sudden stop and the _splat_ at the bottom that bothered me. But as I looked far into the distance, perking my ears for any sounds at all, I sighed in resignation.

"Alright."

"You're sure?"

"I stand a better chance with you than I do alone on those ropes. Besides, you were able to lift both Li and I at Red Claw Ridge—I place my trust in you."

Borte smiled, "I always knew there was something I liked about you." She flapped her impressive wingspan once and took my shoulders in her talons.

"Hold tight," I warned.

"I always do."

* * *

I had little time to appreciate the beauty of the chasm below. When not in fear of falling—which I was—I'm sure it is truly a breathtaking sight. But Borte was true to her word; before long, I could spot a very familiar shape far below. The suspension bridge swayed and rocked vicariously with Tai Lung's feet pounding against the boards as he raced to the other side. I didn't need to see his face to know that it had that blank, determined expression he always sported when he was focused on something. Judging by the ferocity of his trek, he was very much focused on the mission ahead.

I started to have second thoughts. Maybe I should let him do this, I thought. _He's right, he's never had the chance to prove himself, and maybe if he does, maybe he'll prove he is in fact the Dragon Warrior_.

But I was jogged out of my musings as we neared the last spire, the last span to the Outside. Below, Tai Lung had rounded the stone pillars holding the last span…and paused as surely as I would have.

It was a sea—a solid mass—of soldiers in shining armor, facing off against a thousand large rhinos, all garbed in black and grey. Behind the rhinos was the Chasm, and before us was a solid, high cliff face at the backs of the Imperial soldiers, that jutted up into the sky, sharp as a blade. They had the advantage; they had a solid wall which archers and snipers could hide and ambush, we had nothing but No Man's land and a bottomless pit. Either way it looked, we were probably screwed. Judging from the din that arose from the earth below, I felt my stomach churn with dismay.

The battle had already begun.

The acrid odor of spilled blood and rotting corpses littered the ground, and the unearthly roar of the two armies facing off below rose and echoed off the spires, the very chasm walls vibrating with the war cries and death cries.

Borte let out a loud screech and dove without warning. I shouted in alarm as she swooped down over the heads of the Anvil of Heaven, then just as swiftly adjusted her wings to slow herself down, dropping me quickly by the feet of an extremely tall and bulky rhino. The armor was impressive, covering his entire body, leather armor plated and studded with metal spikes, and a helmet that covered his entire face, but for the narrow eye slits and slit over the mouth.

I didn't recognize him behind the armor, but the booming voice was unmistakable: "Shifu?" It was Ochir. I had never been happier to see him. That happiness quickly degenerated into annoyance when he added, "You got old."

"Nice to see you too," I deadpanned. I gasped when Ochir raised his axe high over his head and brought it down on top of me—

—to cut down the lizard that had snuck up behind me.

"Nice to have you," he shouted, "But you gotta look alive! These sonsabitches won't give you time to breathe!"

"Ochir," I called, "Have you seen a snow leopard here—"

He froze, glaring at me through the visor. I suddenly realized he and I were not thinking of the same snow leopard when he snarled, "I wouldn't want his help even if he _were_ on our side!"

With a sudden angry roar, he charged on a trio of lizards wielding spinning butterfly knives. They let out horrified shrieks as they sliced and struck against his armor, the blades either nicking the armor or snapping clean off the handles. Ochir roared and slammed his fist into one, sending him flying, and that one's comrades tried to attack the mighty bull rhino, swarming like locusts around him in a desperate attempt take him down.

A monk's spade cut into the dirt at my feet. I reacted, brandishing my staff and struck out onto the creature's sternum. The crocodile fell back and I jumped up and delivered a tough kick; the croc fell back, knocking down his comrades. I jumped over their heads and into the next clearing. Rhinos and reptiles fought ferociously around me as I desperately searched for any signs…

The roar was what did it. It was so random, so unlike the other sounds of the battle, that rhinos and reptiles alike paused long enough to glance up, the sun blinding their eyes as a body fell from the sky and right into the middle of the melee.

As soon as Tai Lung's feet landed on the blood-stained earth he laid waste to the four crocs who had recovered enough to know he wasn't on their side. He snarled and punched one, threw another over his shoulder, kicked another and grabbed him and threw him to the ground, and the last he grabbed by the throat and slammed him into the ground.

The reptiles immediately recognized two things: he wasn't on their side, and he was unarmed.

I swore my heart stopped. But to my amazement—as well as the rhinos—Tai Lung zigzagged, dodging and sweeping past the gauntlet of spears, swords, lances and arrows as they fell. From a distance, it looked like the weapons were passing right through him, but he had nary a scratch on his body. Despite his bulk, Tai Lung was amazingly agile, something he had spent years perfecting; before long I realized which style he was using: Monkey. I shook my head in amazement. Drunken Monkey technique to dodge a thousand arrows…

* * *

"Holy crap," Monkey gaped, then grinned. "That's awesome! I should try that…"

"Totally!" Po agreed. "That's hardcore, man."

"Will you _please_ get on with it?" Tigress rolled her eyes.

"Okay, okay, where was I…" Po continued.  


* * *

…to dodge a thousand arrows, and the jabs of swords and pole arms alike. I was stunned. But I wasn't the only one.

Ochir suddenly appeared by my side, lifting his visor in stunned silence. "Who the fuck is he, and is he on our side?"

"That's my student, Tai Lung," I said proudly. "And yes, he's on our side."

"Where the fuck did he learn how to do _that_?" Ochir gasped. We watched in mute shock as Tai Lung leapt high into the air and performed a drop kick, slamming his heel into the ground, crackling the earth around it. Slamming his foot down, he dislodged a nearby boulder, which he kicked at a column of lizards as they charged. The last thing those lizards saw was a wall of rock.

Ochir was staring at me; I shrugged, "Well don't look at me, I didn't teach him that!"

"Then who did?"

We shared a quick look and nodded, agreeing on the most obvious culprit: "Oogway."

But Tai Lung was still moving, still fighting, barely a breath or a heartbeat to pass the time he had been on the battlefield. Ever since he had arrived, he had strictly been on the defensive. I couldn't help but notice that now he had arrived and shown such remarkable feats, the enemy reptiles had all but abandoned fighting the Anvil of Heaven, instead swarming over to my student…

I tried to run forward to stop him, to get him out of there, to protect him or die trying. Ochir's firm hand on my shoulder stopped me, "Wait!"

"Let me go! He needs help!" I shouted.

"He's getting it!"

I looked back and suddenly saw an explosion of lizards and crocs as they flew into the air like sea water crashing against a cliff, screaming as they fell over the edge and into the abyss. Tai Lung knew he was dangerously close to the edge of the chasm as well, and fought ferociously to keep from falling. Just as his heel fell back onto nothingness, I could see the panic and frigid fear in his eyes. My heart stopped as I watched him falling back.

Somehow, out of the swarm, a rhino came and grabbed onto Tai Lung's wrist, yanking him back into the fray as the tattooed rhino slammed into the wall of lizards with butterfly knives and spades. Tai Lung's fur stood on end, fully aware of how close he had come to death. Over the roar of battle, I heard the young rhino laugh heartily and slap a hand on the snow leopard's shoulder,

"You almost bought it that time, pal!"

Tai Lung forced a smile and recovered quickly, "I came to help you!"

"You already are! You took down, what, twenty, or forty?"

"The hell with keeping count, I want to live!" he replied as he punched one croc in the jaw, running his fingers down the reptile's face before hitting him with the Leopard Strike he was perfecting.

"Here!" the rhino yelled, offering his hand. Tai Lung hopped onto the outstretched palm and used it as a boost to fly far over the heads of the other combatants. As he came in for a landing, I saw him draw something out of a sheath he had strapped to his waist.

The Sword of Heroes.

I laughed in spite of myself. Like father like son.

Ochir nudged me, "C'mon, this battle ain't over yet."

"How long have you been fighting?"

"Since dawn. We've been holding them back, but they've got superior numbers."

"How many casualties?"

"None on our side." _Yet_. I truly felt for him; these men were more than his soldiers. They were his students. They were his children. If even one fell, I knew Ochir would lose it, as surely as I would if Tai Lung died in battle.

The sudden shriek from far on the other side of the battlefield alerted us to what had happened in the few seconds we had turned our attention away. Tai Lung, using the Sword of Heroes, had beaten back a company of four score, pushing them back against the sheer cliff face in front of us. Remarkably, there was no blood. How? How could he wield that blade—the sharpest of any sword ever to exist—without spilling a single drop?

Then it occurred to me…he's not trying to kill them.

"Holy shit," Ochir cursed. "We've gained ground."

"That's…good?"

"Shifu, we've been losing ground since the battle started; your kid just gained it all back and then some! Wow, look at him go!"

I did, and I saw the tattooed rhino following in his wake, taking down stragglers and felling those still stupid enough to charge a bull rhino. The rhino called out to Tai Lung who fell back a little to stand by the rhino's side. The rhino whispered something to Tai Lung, who looked perplexed, but only nodded…and handed his comrade the Sword of Heroes.

He leapt back into the fight.

The rhino stuck the sword in his belt and swung his war hammer high, sweeping lizards and crocs out of his path. He hailed Ochir, who waved his axe high. The younger rhino drove his way through, making a path right towards us. I make no secret of it; I was incredibly impressed. Not since Tai Lung had arrived had the enemy taken one look at Ochir and I. Tai Lung, and now this younger bull, was their main concern.

When the rhino got close, he tore the Sword of Heroes from his belt and tossed it to Ochir. Ochir caught it and handed it to me. "Take up your sword, warrior. This fight's not done. Vachir!" he called out to the rhino, "Assemble the line, we need to take them, and take them now!"

The rhino nodded, but I recognized the look in his eyes. "He's going to defy you, you know," I warned my friend.

He shouldered his axe and nodded, lowering his visor, "I know. I'm counting on that." With one last impressive roar, Ochir charged right for the enemy. I charged with him, leaping nimbly across the ground, in between bodies of fallen reptiles and shattered weapons. Close to the line of battle, I climbed a boulder to look out over the battlefield for a better view. What had once been a choppy sea of bodies and fighting warriors was now as smoothed over, bodies of enemies strewn on the blood-stained ground like flotsam and debris washed up on a shore.

The waves kept crashing, but instead of upon the shore, those waves of enemy soldiers slamming into the wall that was the Anvil of Heaven. The Anvil of Heaven, from my perch, I finally saw in all its glory. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder, wielding in equal parts lances, monk's spades, spears and arrows, each heavily armored but remarkably free to move. They stood as impenetrable as the Great Wall, stern and unmoving like miniature mountains, every single one of them. With a shout from the tattooed rhino, Vachir, they all stepped forward, bracing themselves for an attack, pole arms stuck out in front of the column as the lizards and crocs literally impaled themselves on the weapons.

I had lost track of Tai Lung. I scanned the scene, desperate for a sighting of him. With ever-increasing dread I searched the sea of dead and dying bodies for a spotted pelt…

Movement high above, climbing the cliff face far above the heads of the reptiles, caught my eye. I had to strain my eyes to see him, but he was there, his pelt the perfect camouflage. The speed at which he climbed was frightening, but I knew he was climbing because his life—and our lives—depended on it. Far below, Ochir yelled something at Vachir, who appeared to ignore him and ordered his archers to fire.

The archers drew their arrows and aimed for the reptiles, the scaly bastards recoiling in fear, knowing they were trapped and expecting the sting of a hundreds of arrows. But at the last minute, Vachir shouted, the words that made me gasp, "Shoot 'em to High Heaven, boys!"

Tai Lung had stopped, three-quarters of the way up, but hearing that order echoing off the wall of solid rock told him to move faster until he was close—so close—to the top of that cliff.

Vachir noted his progress and ordered the volley to fire. Most of the arrows flew high overhead and rained down on the heads of the reptiles who fell in droves. One arrow, though, was affixed to a twine, and flew high, high, higher and higher until the arrow came within inches of my student. He reached out with one hand and grasped it, then viciously stabbed the arrow point into the rock at the top of the cliff.

Clutching the twine, he jumped.

I was so terrified I didn't have the sense of mind to scream, but I watched with wondering eyes as Tai Lung fell, then arched his body to take him back to the wall of rock. He drew in his legs close to his body, then as he got close to the wall of rock, suddenly kicked out, slamming into the cliff face with the mighty boom of a bomb.

As soon as he made contact, Vachir grabbed his end of the rope and pulled it taut. Tai Lung grasped the twine in his hand, wincing as it broke through the skin.

I was close enough…

"TAI LUNG!" I screamed, "THE SWORD!" I took it by the blade, holding the point in my fingers. I had done this as a young boy, when learning to throw knives. Now the life of my student and the lives of Ochir's, all hung in the balance, on this one throw. I let it go, the blade twisting and turning in the air like a wheel, right toward Tai Lung.

He caught it with one hand and threw the blade over the twine, grabbing onto the blunt side of the blade. He began to slide down the twine, using the sword as a glider. At twenty feet off the ground, he let go, slamming into the earth by Vachir's feet.

Then he turned back to me, and broke into a run. Vachir called out to him, but Tai Lung ignored him, dashing right towards me. The look in his face was unmistakable, the panic, the fear, the duty of protecting a parent…

That was the only notion I had that I was in any danger.

Then I heard the cracking above me.

I looked up and felt as someone would if they had been walking on an icy lake, and only just heard the cracking beneath their feet. Rocks, little ones at first, began to fall from the cliff face, but then larger ones, and finally the entire cliff was crumbling. There was no way out.

The wind was knocked out of me as Tai Lung slammed into me, somersaulting and skidding on the dirt before turning back and dashing like a madman back to our lines. I grasped onto his fur as he ran on all fours, the landscape a blur as he jumped, leapt and dodged between bodies and debris. Behind us the cliff was falling, raining down on the enemy and before I knew it, the falling rocks were much too close to us.

I climbed my way onto his back and jumped up as the largest of these boulders fell, and was heading right for us. Holding out my hand flat, I took a deep breath, focusing my chi and struck my hand out like a blade. The rock crumbled and I jumped from falling stone to falling stone like a frog on lily pads. Tai Lung had stopped long enough to grab me as I fell to the ground and we broke out into a run again.

The Anvil of Heaven were waiting by the Thread of Hope, urging us on. Ochir was roaring my name, "Shifu! SHIFU! MOVE!"

"Come on!" another screamed.

"You're close! You're so close!"

Vachir was the only one proactive enough to break rank and run out to meet us. He grabbed Tai Lung's paw and yanked sharply, both of us falling forward and right into the waiting arms of the rhinos as the last rocks fell where our feet had been mere seconds before.

Tai Lung panted next to me, both of us looking out over the battlefield. Amazingly, the line the rhinos had occupied when I had arrived had been the cut-off point, the safe zone far from the crumbling wall of the cliff.

The lizards and crocs lay, all dead, under the rubble, and those that weren't soon would be. There was nothing but silence from any of the rhinos as all one thousand of them stared at the field where they may very well have died had no one come to their aid. Vachir grabbed Tai Lung before the snow leopard could collapse; he was the first person to say anything,

"You…are a _lucky_ son of a bitch, you know that?" he laughed.

My student couldn't help but crack a toothy smile, then laugh nervously, still panting, "I…I almost died."

"And if it were up to me," I said suddenly, standing and glaring at my student. "You'd have something far worse to worry about."

Tai Lung visibly paled when he looked down at me, and I could see his eyes starting to roll back into his head, close to passing out. I hoped it was the battle fatigue. I want to say it was battle fatigue that made him so faint. Secretly, I think he honestly feared I could kill him.

"So, my student," I said, my voice echoing off the field and down the line of rhinos, a few of which drew back with worried looks. Apparently my reputation as a hard-ass trainer preceded me. That, or they figured Tai Lung had very good reason to look so nervous. "We seem to have a…problem, haven't we?"

He just set his jaw and stood as straight as his exhausted body would allow. His shoulders were slumped, his tail practically between his legs, and he wouldn't look me in the eye.

I snapped, "So, let's go down the list of all the rules at the Jade Palace you broke, and all the laws of Empire for that matter. You _defied_ your master's orders to never leave until your training was complete. You stole the Sword of Heroes from the Sacred Hall of Warriors, a _priceless_ relic that is _sacred to _our world, to use in battle! BATTLE!"

He cringed when I raised my voice.

"Not only that, I can't tell you the number of reports of you trespassing onto the properties of the Valley's citizens, or the damages to the Thread of Hope that will need to be fixed…oh, and don't get me started on completely destroying that entire mountain!" I snapped, pointing at the now-destroyed cliff. "I should say you have completely dishonored me by running away, and dishonored yourself by such a _sloppy_ performance on the battlefield. In fact, I _should_ very well throw you out of the Jade Palace _right_ now…"

I knew I had gone too far. Still pale, he looked like he was about to be sick. Behind him, a few of the rhinos looked angry—angry!—that I was berating him like this. But just as it had happened to me more than twenty-five years before, I strode forward, my hands clasped behind my back.

"I say I should," I said pointedly. "…but that would be hypocritical of me, wouldn't it?"

Tai Lung stared at me in confusion.

I smirked, "I did the same exact thing when I was your age."

He finally cracked a hopeful smile. "So…I'm not in trouble?"

I picked up the Sword of Heroes.

"Those scratches were there before," he gasped, "I swear to the gods!"

I chuckled, running my fingers over the scratches Xue Shan had made during our duel, "I know. They got there when I last wielded this blade."

Ochir nudged me, whispering, "Why don't you make up with the kid before he passes out, okay?"

"I'm working on it," I hissed back. Looking back at Tai Lung, I sighed, "I shouldn't be angry—how can I be? When I was exactly your age, I came to the aid of the Imperial army…"

"The Battle of Red Claw Ridge," Tai Lung gasped. "That was you? Master Oogway never…"

"Strange, I would've thought he'd mention me somewhere," I said curiously.

Tai Lung pointed at Ochir, "He said Master Flying Rhino was there."

I nodded, "As were Master Dong Li, Lieutenant Jian Ren, and…" my breath caught in my throat as I uttered her name, "And Master Yeying."

Tai Lung's ears flattened against his head; he knew how hard it was for me to talk about her. But I noted a bit of pride there in his smile, pride for the mother he had never known. I smiled at him, "No, you're not in trouble. I'd be a hypocrite if I punished you for doing the right thing. However, be that as it may," I pointed at the cliff. "You should've used Oxen Fist, not Dragon Kick; it would've ensured enough time for everyone to get to safety before it crumbled…" Ochir gently kicked me to get me to reach my finale. "…But otherwise, good job."

Tai Lung grinned. He punched his fist into his palm and bowed low, completely relieved, "Thank you, Master."

I bowed back. Straightening up, I nodded, "You're welcome, my student. You're also welcome to pass out now."

"Thank you, Master," he said before promptly falling into unconsciousness. Vachir caught him before his body fell, the rhino looking between me and Ochir for further instructions.

Ochir just chuckled, smiling as Borte finally came to land on his shoulder, "He lasted a lot longer than I expected for his first battle. Vachir, go tell the men to make camp in the next valley over…and find some smelling salts for the rookie."

Thus came to pass the Battle against the Warriors of Guangdong Province, at the Gates of the Thread of Hope, where the Anvil of Heaven cut their teeth on true battle for the first time; where Master Flying Rhino wore his legendary armor only once, and where it received its Authentic Battle Damage; and where Tai Lung began his career as a kung fu warrior unlike anything the world had ever seen.

* * *

"How is he?" I asked Borte later that night. The falcon looked back at the fire pit where Tai Lung—still pale—was sitting amongst the rhinos and listening to their stories of training; they in turn paled when he told them about some of his own training practices. I didn't think I had been _that_ harsh. But before long, I was amazed to see how quickly he had fallen in with them.

He and Vachir were now inseparable. I had never seen a faster bond develop between two warriors as it did for them. I recalled my student had never really had any close friends; this friendship with Vachir was crucial, like blood in a vein or air in a lung. They were remarkably similar—both were the star pupils of their respective masters.

The circle that Tai Lung was sitting at suddenly erupted into laughter as he recalled one story from his childhood. I smirked, knowing which one he was telling. When he had been about fourteen, he had a, well, a "strength spurt" where all of a sudden, he couldn't control his own strength. I spent more time filling out work orders than training him. Oogway and I didn't pay it much mind at first—just a boy going through those changes that all boys do, we thought.

Then Tai Lung accidentally tore off the door to the Sacred Hall of Warriors when he had tried to open it.

At that moment, surrounded by his new friends, he was pantomiming holding the door—the whole door—by the handle in his hand, and the others took it with much fanfare. Vachir laughed the hardest, adding one of his own embarrassing training stories.

"I think he's doing well," I smiled. "You look relieved."

She smiled and nodded, "My husband and sons are safe; why shouldn't I be happy?"

"I wonder what Rong Lang will say when he finds I'm still kicking, but his army lies defeated?" I mused.

"I hope he eats his own tail," Borte smirked.

I laughed, then turned serious, "Is the army heading to the capital?"

She sighed, "As far as I know. We've heard whispers of rebellions around China, but it is my hope—and Ochir's—that this victory will convince others to rise up against Rong's tyranny. So in a way, yes, we will take it to the capital."

Shouting in the distance alerted us to a disturbance at the edges of the camp. Rhinos were up at arms immediately, Vachir reaching for his war hammer and Tai Lung jumping up just in time for a shape to descend from the sky.

The shape jumped back as Tai Lung punched, the stranger, nimbly dashing side to side to avoid the attacks from him and the rhinos. The stranger jumped up, pushing off of Tai Lung's shoulders and somersaulted in mid-air, landing a few yards away. The stranger took up a shield and staff, which struck me as very odd. He—for his physique marked him as such—was unarmed, alone, in a camp full of rhinos armed to the teeth, and he was going to fight with a shield and bamboo staff?

But he was expert at the staff, swinging it in ways that kept even the more hardened of Ochir's students at bay. Not Tai Lung. Tai Lung was on him like lightning on a tree, striking with such blinding fury that he didn't see the other warrior's foot arching around to kick him in the side. Tai Lung recovered quickly, coming back at him, blocking the blows from the staff and kicking out.

I saw the flash of recognition cross his face when he recognized the form of kung fu he was fighting.

"I didn't think monks were allowed to leave the Temple, at least not ones so young," he snapped, grabbing hold of the staff and tearing it from the assailant's grasp.

The assailant chuckled, "Monks my age? No. But I'm no monk."

"Obviously. But if you're not a holy man," my student said, crouching low and preparing for an attack, "Then who are you? And what do you want?"

The stranger straightened, dropping the shield and looking my student right in the eyes. "My name is inconsequential, for I have no family, thus no identity. I am an orphan, a rogue, a pitiful thing that the monks took in out of the goodness in their hearts…"

I saw this striking a very dear chord in my son's eyes. I think he and I both knew that this stranger was not lying, or had no capacity to lie.

The stranger met my son's golden gaze with one of his own, "And what I want is a home. The abbot told me I could find one in the Valley of Peace, with Master Shifu. I was told Master Shifu somehow knew me, had known my family…"

Before us stood a most impressive tiger who, despite the rough clothes he wore, carried himself with pride in a way I had only seen from nobility. He stood eye to eye with Tai Lung, just as tall, just as imposing, but with a gentler spirit I saw only in the virtuous valley citizens. I was amazed at how remarkably young he was, perhaps a few years older than the snow leopard, and yet, how remarkably familiar…

"So," he said with a strong voice and a kind, reverent smile as he looked at my student, "I understand you are the student of the great Master Shifu."

"I am," my son replied. "And you are?"

The tiger smiled thinly, as if embarrassed, "Xin, my name is Xin."

Both Tai Lung and I were taken aback by the collective gasps around us…and just as surprisingly, all the rhinos around us knelt and kowtowed. Ochir and Borte were both kneeling. Tai Lung, with his usual eloquence, was the first to ask, "What the bleeding hell?"

The tiger called Xin laughed, and smiled warmly. That was when I recognized him.

"The General!" I gasped. "You're the General's grandson! But…how? You were all massacred!"

"My entire family was, yes," he replied with extreme melancholy, "but I was away at boarding school at the time of the revolt." He sighed, forcing his expression to something more resolute, "Rong Lang and his henchmen never got to me. I lived as a peasant these past twenty years, in a monastery waiting for Rong to make the crucial mistake so I could take my revenge."

"So…" my son asked, "You are…related to someone very important, aren't you?"

"Only to the Late Emperor Yi, but yes, I guess you could say that," the tiger said with a roguish grin, undoubtedly inherited from his grandfather.

"Emperor Yi?" Tai Lung asked. Well, how could he have known? That emperor died before he was scarcely six months old.

"He was my great uncle, and as far as I know, I am the last of my clan…" Xin explained.

"And heir to the empire," I added. This seemed to impress Tai Lung a great deal…but also intimidate him. Fortunately, the General's grandson was not like most royals, having been raised a peasant, and in the company of monks. Truly he was most like his grandfather, humble and dedicated.

Xin made a face, holding up his hands soothingly, "Please, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We still need to take the Imperial City and oust Rong Lang for good…" he sighed forlornly as the Anvil of Heaven stood once again and listened carefully. "I need to bring honor to my family and honor their memories. The abbot told me that the only way to do this is to take Rong Lang out for good, so he can no longer hurt the people of China."

"And you think you can do this alone?" Ochir asked.

"I…I didn't intend…I mean, I heard about you and Master Shifu, I thought of asking Master Oogway for help," he said calmly, "I never expected to find you here, fighting Rong's army…But it makes me hopeful that I'm not the only one in the empire who dislikes the emperor…"

I couldn't help myself: I started laughing uproariously. This drew stares and glares so I calmed myself down, "Young man," I said to a very confused Xin, "That is the understatement of the dynasty."

"Son," Ochir said flatly, "You didn't get out of the monastery much, did you? The entire empire hates him."

"So…" Xin said slowly, hopefully. "…does that mean you'll help me?"

Ochir glanced down at me, and I smiled, "I think it's safe to say you have our full support."

"Not to mention an entire army at your back," Ochir winked. Xin looked positively out of his element, coming from nothing to having everything, from having no hope to having the hopes of an entire empire.

"I…I'm grateful, Masters. I did not expect anything from anyone. This is truly…I mean, I don't know what to say."

"Saying 'Lets go kick Rong Lang's ass out of my palace' is a good place to start," Ochir smirked.

"But I don't know how to lead an army. I've never seen battle before today, when I watched you…" he turned to Tai Lung. "You were amazing. I thought the monks at the temple were amazing, but I have never seen anything like you."

"Oh, well," Tai Lung smiled; I sighed a little, seeing the natural feline pride swelling. I knew I should have reined it in, but at the time, I was just as proud of his accomplishment as he was. What could it hurt?

"Prince Xin," I started.

"With all due respect Master Shifu," he bowed, "It's just Xin. I have no title…"

"Yet."

"But if I am to regain my family's lost honor and honor my ancestors, I need to do this," the tiger bowed to Ochir, "Master Flying Rhino, I am honored to have your offer, and I would be much more honored if I may take you up on it…"

Ochir rolled his eyes, "Kid, just give the order to kick the wolf's ass."

Xin looked exceedingly uncomfortable giving an order, but did so anyway, "I order you to kick that wolf's ass."

"Little more force behind it…"

He took a deep breath and let it out, pulling on some reserve inside before he barked out, "Master Flying Rhino, I _order_ you to bring me that wolf's hide!"

Ochir smiled, "There ya go. See? Just takes a little practice."

Tai Lung sent me a look and I just shook my head, "Don't worry about Flying Rhino," I told my student. "He's just…"

"Just fucking with him?"

"Yup."

* * *

Early the next morning, the Anvil of Heaven was breaking camp and making ready their long trek to the capital to drive Rong Lang from the palace he had usurped. Tai Lung, Xin and myself sat at a small fire with lukewarm rice and vegetables for breakfast, the three of us subdued. I noted Xin looked nervous, and why shouldn't he be? He was barely twenty-one, and had come from a life of extreme poverty, depending on the kindnesses of others to survive, and now he had the entire empire at his fingertips. I don't think there's a soul alive who could truly understand the mind of Emperor Xian Xin—Valiant Heart—who in the coming months would live up to his name.

"The world's a lot bigger place than I thought it was," he confessed to us. "I've come from nothing, and am coming into everything. I don't know if I can handle it. How do I know I won't let the power corrupt me?"

"Because you were raised by monks?" Tai Lung offered.

I smiled at my student's efforts to cheer his peer. But Xin shook his head, "Power can easily corrupt the purest heart. I don't even want the throne, but its expected, isn't it?"

"Well," I said, "Its expected insofar as tradition is. You felt you had a duty to your family, to your ancestors…"

"A family I don't remember," Xin sighed. "How do I know I'm honoring them if I never knew them?"

Tai Lung had stopped eating and was staring blankly into the fire.

"I'm an orphan," Xin continued, "I don't remember my parents, or the grandfather you knew so well. How do I know I'm not making a huge mistake?"

"You're not," Tai Lung said suddenly. "You're doing what is right."

"How can you be sure?"

"Are you doing this for money?" he asked. "Are you doing it for glory? For pride? If none of those, why are you doing this?"

Xin's answer was automatic: "Because it's the right thing to do."

Tai Lung smirked as realization fell on the tiger's face. "There you go."

I smiled at my student. Truly, he had been spending some time with Master Oogway. Xin smiled back at the snow leopard, then said, "I wish you could come with us, Tai Lung. We may require your skills if we are to finally bring peace to China and end this senseless bloodshed."

"Yes!" he jumped at the chance. "Yes, that's what I want! I want China to be safe, I want…" he looked at me and my heart welled with hope and pride. He still wanted to protect me. "That is…if I have my master's permission."

Both cats looked at me expectantly, and…well, how could I possibly say no?

"Just be careful, both of you. The fate of the empire rests in your hands." I waited until I saw the nervous looks they exchanged; I smirked, "But no pressure."

"Not at all, Master," Tai Lung said sardonically, with such a deadpan expression that it made Xin laugh. It broke up the silence, which we all welcomed.

"So where is this monastery you grew up in?" Tai Lung finally asked.

"Oh, it's awfully small," Xin explained with a bit of an embarrassed blush. "Its on Song Shan, in Henan, above the town of Dengfeng…you've probably never heard of it."

"Try me," I said.

"Shaolin?" he asked.

I looked at Tai Lung who looked back at me. We both shrugged, "Never heard of it."

"Like I said, it was pretty small…"

"So…you're not a monk, so what did you do there?" Tai Lung asked.

Xin smiled, looking proud of himself for once, "I learned kung fu. Can you imagine it? Monks, knowing how to _fight_—it's crazy, right?"

* * *

Borte perched on a branch above me as we watched the Anvil of Heaven—and Tai Lung and Crown Prince Xin—depart for the capital. The sun was only just starting to peek between the mountains, lighting the way for the troops. I heard Borte sigh above me.

"He'll be back," I said, implying her husband.

"Funny, that's what I was going to say to you," she said.

I looked out as the column of 1000 rhinos disappeared into the mountains to face battle, to face an uncertain future. Instead of dread, however, for the first time I felt hope. For the first time in twenty years, I had a broad, unshakable hope growing in my chest. My student—my son—was a hero, and gone with other heroes to do Heaven's work. At that moment, I had nothing but hope left.

* * *

"So _that's_ how he got the authentic battle damage!" Po exclaimed. "Cool!"

"I kinda hate to say it," Monkey said, "But Tai Lung is…well…likeable."

"Yeah," Viper said with a sweet smile. "Even when he was a young man, he still wanted to help Shifu, and he believed in honor and filial duty. He…sounded like the perfect son…" she trailed off.

"What's wrong?" Po asked.

"If he was the perfect son back then," Viper started.

"Then how did he end up in Chorh-Gom?" Tigress finished. "Even to have Commander Vachir as a war buddy, to consider the Anvil of Heaven his brothers in arms, and then to be imprisoned by them…how could he come to hate Shifu so much, to hate everyone and deny every virtue he ever learned?"

"Something must've happened," Monkey pondered as Po put the scroll away.

"You'd think that it would've been something huge," Mantis said. "Can't be more than just being denied the scroll, because it sounds like he wasn't that bad of a guy…"

"No," Monkey said suddenly, "That's not what I meant. It's been two weeks. Shifu's not back yet."

Silence fell over the table and they looked to the basket of scrolls. There were three left.

"Guess we should speed-read through those before he gets back, huh?" Po asked. He got up and started rummaging through the cabinets, collecting bowls, utensils and ingredients. "Someone else take up the next scroll. If we're gonna breeze through 'em, I'm not doin' it on an empty stomach. Who wants wontons?"

* * *

Man, I'm so glad I got over this hurdle. Thanks so much for being so patient! Please review!


	20. Chapter 20

Before we begin, I need to make this notation: As "awesome" as the battle scene in the last chapter was, I can't take full credit for it. The whole sequence is the brainchild of Nievelion who, in his own fic "A Different Lesson" features a totally awesome battle in an upcoming chapter that shows Tai Lung bringing down a mountain on the heads of really bad baddies (only in his version, Tai's more bad-ass than I could ever make him; lets face it, in my last chapter, the kid got damn lucky). The battle scene I wrote was inspired by him and his endless fountain of ideas. Seriously, go read it; "Different Lesson" is to "Memoirs" as "Dracula" is to "Twilight"—there is no equal; one is clearly greater than the other.

Hope you all enjoy this, this took a while to write (a month, all told) so please be kind!

Disclaimer: Don't own Kung Fu Panda. Shifu's past is purely my own invention.

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

Chapter 20

* * *

Viper yawned widely as she gazed bleary-eyed out the window at the rising sun. Sighing tiredly, she groaned, "Day fifteen…minus Shifu..."

"C'mon, guys, we gotta stay awake to get through these last three…" Po cajoled. "There's plenty of food."

"Not enough tea to keep us up though," Crane blinked. The bird's head had dipped a few times, but he straightened himself immediately once he was aware of his impending slumber. Mantis had long ago fallen asleep after ingesting two bowls of noodles. Tigress' chin rested on her chest, her eyes closed in an apparent attempt at meditation. She intended to gain focus, but only succeeded in finding slumber, not enlightenment.

It was Monkey who got them all awake again. The primate had fallen asleep with his cheek resting in his palm. He wasn't even aware he had fallen asleep until his head slipped out of his hand and hit the tabletop with a loud thud.

This shocked everyone awake immediately. Tigress growled and stood, "That's it, we're breaking out the heavy-duty tea."

"The chai?" Viper asked.

"No, the oolong."

The other members of the Five gasped in horror. Po gave them a curious look. "What's the deal with the oolong?"

"Its _Shifu's_ oolong," Mantis whispered. "No one is allowed to drink it but him…"

Tigress tore the cupboard door open and pulled out a small tea tin and a special cast iron teapot. The Five stared at it like it was a lit firecracker ready to go off in her hand. Yet Tigress looked oddly nonchalant about the whole thing. "Oh please, like he's going to miss a teaspoon. He hasn't touched this since last Summer!"

"But he'll know, he'll just _know_!" Viper hissed. "The scrolls are one thing, but that's _his_ tea!"

"And he's not going to miss a teaspoon—that's all we'll need."

Po was impressed by how ballsy the tiger had become. Less than two weeks ago, she was aghast at the thought of entering her master's private quarters. Now, she was drinking his tea without batting an eyelash! "So what's the big deal with this tea?" he asked. "Is it rare? Special blend?"

Tigress set the tin down and poured boiling water into the cast-iron pot. Carefully measuring out the dried tea leaves, she placed the strainer on the top and replaced the lid to allow it to steep. "You've had black teas before, right?"

Po nodded.

"And you know oolong teas are good for aiding digestion and fighting back hunger…"

"Okay, I need to go on a diet, I _get it_," he rolled his eyes.

"Let me finish," she snapped irritably. Rubbing the inside corners of her eyes, she continued. "This tea is a mix of leaves from the mountains in the north, valleys of the south of China, India and Tibet. One cup will keep you awake twice as long as three cups of black tea will. In short, as Mantis put it once," she smirked, "This 'will knock you on your ass'."

The panda should have been appalled by the horrid language pouring from her mouth. Then he remembered who she was quoting: "It'll knock _me_ on my ass, huh?" He had to admit, he was secretly proud of her. In the past two weeks, she had opened up more to him than either thought possible. Moreover, she seemed to generally be warming up to him, a theory that was confirmed when he was the first one she offered the tea to.

Tigress poured him a cup, one that was as small as one of his fingers, and handed it to him. Po eyed her cautiously, "Don't I need something bigger?"

"Trust me, that's all you'll need."

Po stared at the tiny cup in his hand and threw it back like a shot before Tigress could warn him. His hands began to shake and tremble violently, and very suddenly, his fur stood on end, the electric nerves surging with—

"YEOW!!!" Po yelped, falling onto his back as if he'd been punched. The Five stared at him in alarm; Tigress got up and knelt next to him, "Po? PO! Po, talk to me, open your eyes…"

Po forced his eyes open…then his body jolted upright, still twitching uncontrollably. "Wow…hello, caffeine…"

"I tried to warn you…" she scolded, but with a relieved smile.

"Well, you were right, that did knock me on my ass."

"You were supposed to sip it."

"I'll log that for future reference, thanks."

Monkey reached for the teapot and poured himself a cup. "Alright, whose turn is it?"

"Can it wait until we have caffeine surging through our systems first?" Mantis groaned, exhaustively eyeing the basket of scrolls.

Crane picked up the next scroll and unrolled it, "I'll do it. Someone just give me the damn tea before I pass out…"

* * *

Borte and I returned to the Jade Palace as quietly as possible. We avoided the direct route through the village, as we didn't want to be kept by the villagers' endless questions about the battle. I think the fair majority of them were surprised to see me walking outside the palace's walls, after so many years being a veritable prisoner of the place I'd called home since I was four.

"I'm surprised you didn't go with the army to the capital," Borte said to me as we neared Jade Mountain.

I shook my head, "I've seen far too much bloodshed. I'd be happy to avoid it altogether. You were right in calling me a coward."

"I only called you a coward because you didn't put your son first. This time, you did, and now he's off becoming the man he was always meant to be. Boys cannot become men, Shifu, until they are given the opportunity." She held out her wing to block my way. "Let me fly us the rest of the way. The sooner we're there, the sooner we can rest."

I was too tired to argue, and I would not have argued if I'd had the energy. When we made it to the Jade Palace, Oogway met us at the door. He was smiling.

"So," he started. "It sounds like it went well."

For the first time in years, I smiled hopefully. "It did."

"I don't see Tai Lung. Is he well?"

"He's just fine, Master."

"He performed well, I take it?"

"He did. Oh, he also wanted me to bring this back," I said, pulling out the Sword of Heroes. "He is traveling to the capital with the Anvil of Heaven to bring down Rong Lang. He assured me he didn't need it."

"Didn't need it, or feared you would kill him if he lost it?"

"Probably both."

Oogway chuckled, nodding, "Good. Set it back in the Hall of Warriors, would you? Oh, and please keep me informed about the goings-on in the capital, Lady Borte. I am loathe to miss it, but my interest is not waned."

Borte smiled knowingly and spread her wings. "As you wish," she said just before she took off.

* * *

"You have mail," Oogway said to me a week later. He set a scroll on the table before me while we were eating breakfast. Borte had just returned from the Imperial Palace with the letter and glanced in my direction as I unrolled the scroll and scanned it. It was from Tai Lung, dated just three days ago:

_Master,_

_I'm writing to you from the Imperial Palace today to inform you that we are victorious. The Anvil of Heaven, Master Flying Rhino and I have successfully ousted Rong Lang from power—_

I whooped loud and proud, sharing the news with Borte and Oogway. Borte was ecstatic, and I couldn't remember the last time I had seen Oogway so happy.

"Well, what else does he have to say?" my master asked.

I read aloud:

_We were surprised to find upon arrival that Rong Lang's army was ready to surrender. We had no idea why until we entered the palace and found the wolf dead in his bed. I'll spare you the details; it was not a pleasant sight._

_Rong Lang is dead, assassinated. It took twenty years, but someone was brave enough to do so. No one knows for certain who is responsible, but whispers around the palace from servants still loyal to Emperor Yi have told me they suspect a fellow named Xue Shan…_

The room was dead silent. Borte and Oogway looked as shocked as I felt. Xue Shan…was still alive? How? I had slit his throat during our duel, he was bleeding out on the floor…how could he survive that? Oogway took the scroll and continued to read:

_There is very little else to say. Those still loyal to Rong have been rounded up and imprisoned, and political prisoners of Rong Lang have all been freed, with very few exceptions to the more violent offenders. Prince Xin is as compassionate as he is honest. There were so many prisoners, Master; I can not say how I felt as I watched the wretches step out into the light for the first time in years._

_Vachir tells me that we're going to be here a while to help restore the palace, the city and the country to their former glory, though even he is not sure how long that will take. I wished I'd had more of a chance to fight, to show my skills and prove my worth as a warrior, but I suppose I should be grateful the Cataclysm is finally over._

_Prince Xin is soon to be crowned Emperor, and is requesting your presence or Master Oogway's in the Imperial City. There is much to be done, he says, for order to be restored. He requests an immediate response. Until I hear from you,_

_Your Student,_

_Tai Lung_

Oogway just smiled at me and handed me the scroll. "Well," he said. "I think it's been some time since I've been on a road trip. And if I recall correctly, the capital is rather lovely this time of year…" he laid his hand on my shoulder, "Besides, it would do you some good to go as well."

He didn't need to elaborate, I knew what he meant. He wanted me to go with him, if for no other reason, to provide closure to the most precious thing I had ever lost.

* * *

We didn't arrive until ten days later, traveling quite fast for an aging red panda and thousand year old tortoise. But when we did arrive, the entire capital was set in a festival mood despite the years of worry and fear that gripped its residents. I assumed that this jovial atmosphere had been completely nonexistent during Rong's reign, but with the presence of the army of rhinos, and of course, Prince Xin, they had quite a bit to celebrate.

The gates to the Imperial palace were guarded by two of Ochir's men, who grinned when they saw us, bowed low and opened the doors wide to allow us entry.

I hardly recognized the place, and not in a good way. Two decades of rule under that damned wolf had reduced a once crowning glory to ruin. The walls had graffiti all over them, the flagstones of the courtyards completely smashed, with weeds growing in between the cracks. Paint was peeling from the walls, and ominous stains were patched here and there. I could tell Oogway wasn't too happy with what he was seeing either.

As soon as we entered the main hall, we were escorted to the throne room, which, to no one's surprise, was absolutely gilded with all the gold, silver and precious jewels that Rong undoubtedly believed he was entitled to. The doors to the throne room, however, had been stripped of that gold and were being smashed for firewood. Other servants and civilian volunteers were working hard to strip the gold and jewels from the walls to melt down for currency; all that gold and silver was desperately needed in circulation in order for the economy to improve.

Through the open doorway, we saw two very familiar faces, pouring over scrolls on a table. Both were dressed in exquisite red silk clothes, with symbols for Honor, Loyalty and Peace embroidered along the hems.

When one of them looked up, he straightened and bowed, "Welcome, Master Shifu, Master Oogway…"

I gaped, hardly recognizing the person before me. "…Tai Lung?" I had never seen him wearing something so rich, so decadent. He usually wore just cotton training pants and bindings around his feet. Yet here he was, freshly bathed and groomed, looking refreshed and dignified in a way I had never seen before. I was struck by how…grown up he looked. I suppose a part of me always saw the cub in him, and now that I saw this man before me, I didn't know what to say.

Prince Xin smiled at me, clearly seeing my shock at my student's apparel. "I hope you don't mind, I thought he'd need something a little more appropriate for staying in the Imperial Palace…"

"Is that silk?" I stared in amazement.

Tai Lung smirked, smoothing the fabric over his chest, "It _is_ rather nice, isn't it? Prince Xin insisted on it, and who am I to complain, or deny the Emperor-to-be?"

I smiled back. He had a point, and though I should have scolded him for pride, truth was, I was proud for him as he was for himself.

"I actually wished to speak with you, Master Shifu," Xin asked me. "…In private?"

I could only nod mutely as I followed the young tiger behind closed doors. Tai Lung looked concerned for a moment, but busied himself informing Master Oogway about whatever it was he had been going over when we arrived. He would continue to boastfully explain how they had overpowered the army of the late "emperor" and came to victory, but that was all I heard as we left the throne room.

In a smaller chamber, Xin closed the doors and sighed. "I never expected how hard this would be. The abbot told me that things worth having are never easy to attain."

"He's right," I said. "And you should know, Your Highness, that—"

"_Please_ don't call me that," he begged. "I'm not crowned yet, but there is something I wished to ask of you…"

"Go on."

"I…" he trailed off, then steeled his nerve to ask, "May I have your permission for Tai Lung to stay here?"

I blinked in confusion. I knew that Xin admired my student and was very impressed with what he had seen, and perhaps wanted to learn more from him. "You mean," I started, "As your teacher?"

"He _is_ a master, isn't he?" he asked. "And if he isn't, I could learn so much from him anyway. I mean, he's _amazing_," the tiger launched into excited exaltations of my student's abilities. "That power, that strength…He's only _just_ started to believe me when I told him he has no equal! The truth of the matter is, I can learn so much from Tai Lung, if he is willing to teach me, and if you are willing to let him do so. Master Shifu, I need to confess…when it comes to kung fu…I suck."

I drew back in shock. "…What? How is that possible? You said you were trained…"

He took a deep breath and looked to the closed doors of the small room and sighed. "I know I said I had studied kung fu with those monks, but the honest truth is, I lied. I wanted to gain acceptance, especially respect, from those warriors. I mean, who would follow me if they knew I had been raised to be a weakling? I have no experience with running an army, no experience being a leader; I have always been a follower…"

"You mustn't be so hard on yourself," I assured him, though I was just as angry for this deceit as I'm sure anyone else would be.

"I can't help it. I'm not bred for a position like this," he sighed dejectedly. "I wasn't even _meant_ to assume the throne. The most I could have ever hoped for as the great-nephew of the emperor was a place in his army, or as a magistrate in some obscure county. I have never had true peers when I was living as a peasant, and now I have no peers at all! Who is the peer of the Emperor? Master Shifu," he pleaded, "I don't think I can do this."

"This empire needs you," I said firmly. Now I could see why Prince Xin was begging for Tai Lung to stay. The tiger saw my student as the pinnacle of strength and honor, something the Emperor-to-be would sorely need.

"I can't stand on my own," he continued. "Once they know what a fraud I am…"

"You are not a fraud," I said pointedly. "You are miles above Rong Lang, and he was the greatest fraud of all. Trust me, your goodness and your honesty will mark you as one of the greatest emperors in history."

"But I still don't know how to run an army."

"Master Flying Rhino, I'm sure, would be more than happy to advise you…"

Xin actually smirked. "You hit the nail on the head. He's resigning as commander of the Anvil of Heaven."

"You're kidding," I gaped. "I mean, surely you jest…"

Xin shrugged, "I said the same thing. But he just said, 'I may have only worn that armor once, but I don't think I'll need it again if we're bringing in a time of great peace'. So, as far as I know, he's going into…what did he call it? 'Semi-retirement'? He wants to help teach me to run the Imperial army. Vachir will take over as Commander."

I smiled. "That's wonderful. I hope Master Flying Rhino is not alone."

The tiger shook his head. "Not at all, in fact, he was urged to become Minister of Defense. You wouldn't believe, but once we got here, we found two warriors who promised to help. Turns out they had been helping our cause since before the Cataclysm even began."

I had already heard the rumors about Xue Shan, and now I was concerned that he was one of those warriors. "Who?" I asked.

Xin's answer nearly gave me a heart attack:

"They're called Jian Ren and Dong Li; they said they knew you."

* * *

Ren and Li were no longer at the Imperial City. They had apparently heard the rumor of who had killed Rong Lang and immediately set out to see if the allegations were true. Ochir had heard the whisperings as well, and was just as concerned as I.

"Didn't you kill him?" he asked me later, tugging on the sleeve of his new green robes. We were walking through one of the damaged gardens on the grounds. Prince Xin sought to give us new clothes to wear while we were visiting. We had refused at first, but if Tai Lung felt no problem with it, and Prince Xin insisted, we felt we needed to. After all, who were we to deny the Emperor? The entire Anvil of Heaven was treated this way, as were the Xian family loyalists. Talk had spread throughout the empire that a Golden Age was about to begin, and we were to have integral parts in the reconstruction.

I shook my head, crossing my arms over my blue silk-clad chest. "Sometimes, I wonder if I actually did."

"Shifu, you _slit his throat_. I don't care _who_ you are, you can't come back from that."

"I know, but Shan was nothing if not stubborn."

"He's a cat, man, you know this."

"Of course I know it; I was married…to…one…" I trailed off. We fell into an uncomfortable silence. This was the one subject we had never discussed in twenty years. I had talked to Oogway about it, and Borte eventually inveigled responses from me. Aside from that, none of my friends had ever mentioned Yeying.

I felt Ochir's heavy hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry."

I closed my eyes and sighed wearily. "You'd think," I started, "that twenty years later, it wouldn't hurt as much. Does it surprise you that the wound is still open after all these years?"

"Not at all," he confessed. "I feel that way about my Pops, and I've wondered what could have been, regretted the things I said to him at the tournament, before we lost contact. I wished I had more time with him, or at least tried to rebuild that bridge. Borte still feels the same way about Khan. And, you know, I think she may have loved him, too."

I didn't know how to answer to that. "Does that bother you? I mean, you two _are_ married now."

"It did, I'm not going to lie. But she'd known him since she was a chick, and he had always treated her with respect. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how much I owe to Khan because he helped Borte become the strong woman she is today. And how can I regret that?"

He stopped suddenly, then ushered me aside, onto the inner walkway around the garden and behind a door. Before I had the chance to ask what we were doing, I heard two voices as their owners entered the garden: Tai Lung and Vachir.

"…a lot of pressure," my student was saying as they strolled along. "I'm honored, of course, but he knows kung fu already."

"I'd take him up on his offer," Vachir said. "Being a kung fu master to the emperor is something to be proud of."

"I know, but wouldn't it be better if I were the Dragon Warrior first? Or at least be _named_ a master?"

"After that trick you pulled back there, with the cliff? Why Oogway would _not_ make you a master is a mystery."

"I know. I'm so close, yet so far away."

"Please, you got, what, ten scrolls left to master? After that, you're a shoe-in for the title…Think about it: 'Tai Lung, the Master of the Thousand Scrolls'…"

Tai Lung paused, the formed the words carefully, "Tai Lung, the Master of the Thousand Scrolls…it does sound nice, doesn't it? But I've spent my entire life training to attain the Dragon Scroll. I fit the profile of the Dragon Warrior; don't you think it's more impressive to introduce myself as 'The Dragon Warrior Tai Lung'?"

"I still think 'Master of the Thousand Scrolls' is pretty badass."

"Perhaps," he sounded unconvinced. "But I promised myself to become the Dragon Warrior, for the same reason I got into kung fu in the first place…"

Tai Lung must have told Vachir his reasons for learning the martial arts; the rhino's answer said that much.

"So what? Your master's safe now, and no one's going to hurt him," Vachir said to him. "So why keep training? You said you got into it to protect him…"

Tai Lung shrugged. "I keep training. I need to. I don't know anything else."

"You know you've got a place with me and the Anvil," Vachir offered.

"I know, and I thank you for the offer, but…" he sighed. "I didn't realize until I met Xin that there was something missing from my life, and now that I know what it is…it makes the Dragon Scroll look meaningless."

"What could be so big that you'd give up that dream?"

"A family."

There was a long, awkward pause between them before Vachir said, "But you already got a family. Shifu and Oogway. Shifu's your father—"

"He is _not_ my father," Tai Lung bristled, then added bitterly with a heavy sigh, "He is my master."

It hurt to hear him say that, and with such an edge in his voice, too.

"He raised you, didn't he?" Vachir curiously asked.

"It's not the same and I don't expect you to understand. You know who your ancestors were; I have no bleeding clue who _mine_ were. I guess…if there's one thing I want that maybe the Dragon Scroll can give me, it's the power to know where I came from, who I really am…"

"You _know_ who you really are—you're the best kung fu warrior in Chinese history. Hell, you even have the distinction of training the _emperor_ himself! That's a _shitload_ of honor!" Vachir pointed out.

"You're missing the point. I had a family, somewhere, at some time, but I don't know who they are. How can I be a filial son if I don't know how to honor my ancestors? I don't even have a family name."

Vachir walked in silence for a while before asking, "And you think the Dragon Scroll will solve that?"

Tai Lung shrugged, "Well, if I'm supposed to be able to hear a butterfly's wing beat, and if I will have the secret to limitless power…maybe that will give me the ability to see into the past like Master Oogway can see into the future?"

Vachir shrugged, "It's a possibility, but I wouldn't ride all my hopes on that." Then his body straightened, his face lighting up. "I just got a brainstorm. Xin!"

"What?"

"Talk to Xian Xin! Tell him about this. He's so grateful for _your_ help that he offered you anything you wanted, _anything_ at all, right?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"Look, you don't want treasure or power or prestige, you just want to know your family. Well, you don't know what your family name is, but who else can _give _you a name but the Emperor?"

I bit my lip. It was brilliant. And Tai Lung seemed to agree. Immediately, his entire countenance changed, his voice rising with excitement. "Vachir, you're a bloody genius! I'll go ask him, right now; he said he'd grant me anything I desired, and he's bound to keep his word, right?"

"Even if he weren't, this is still Xin we're talking about," the rhino said. "He wouldn't back out on his word."

No sooner had both of them left the garden did Ochir finally say something. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "This is great; this is something more than I could ever give him!"

"Shifu, the boy is your _son_. He's inherited your family name just as surely as if he were your own blood. Unless you did something stupid like renounce him as your son and forced him to call you his master."

I swallowed hard, feeling a sinking weight in my gut. My silence told my old friend everything he needed to know. He groaned and ran his hands down his face. "You're such a fucking idiot…who the fuck told you to—"

"Miao Li," I growled.

Ochir froze. "What?" Shaking himself out of it, he pressed, "WHY? Has losing her daughter made her lose her mind?!"

"Ochir, she told me to stop referring to Tai Lung as my son in order to protect him. Rong's men could have easily gotten to me through him, and I wasn't going to risk his getting hurt."

"This isn't about him, Shifu," he snapped. "This is the most selfish thing you could have done! You denied that boy the right to have a family—to have a _father_—because you were more afraid for your own hide than his!"

"That's not true!" I growled. "I've always put him first! Do you really think I would have come to meet you in battle if I didn't have his best interests at heart? I was trying to protect him!"

"Shifu, he's _twenty years old_," he shook his head pityingly. "That boy doesn't need you to protect him—you're about ten years too late."

I fell silent, so angry I couldn't respond. But a part of me wanted to agree with him, especially when he said,

"Shifu, I'm just saying, I don't like what I'm hearing. I haven't liked what I've heard from him the minute he joined us. I don't like his attitude. He's too cocky for someone who's only been in one battle. He even seems to believe he's already the Dragon Warrior."

"He might as well be," I stated.

"Not with that attitude, he isn't." Ochir picked me up to make sure I was looking him in the eye when he said, "You keep a close eye on him for the next few days. I've already seen Master Oogway watching him, and he clearly doesn't like what he sees. If you don't check your student, there's going to be worse than humiliation in your future."

"Tai Lung is a danger to no one. If you're so convinced he's got a problem, why don't _you_ do something about it?"

"Because I'm not his master; that's not my job," he said coldly. "If you know what's good for you, what's good for the _both_ of you, you'll take that boy with you when you return to the valley. The longer he stays here, the easier it'll be to corrupt him."

"He's not Shan," I glared. "He is not. Oogway and I raised him to be humble…"

"Not from where I'm standing. Mark my words," he set me down. "You need to give him a reality check before it does any damage. He may not be Shan, but I remember all too well the fierce tempers cats can have."

"He's not like that," I said. "I can count the number of times he's been truly angry on one hand."

"You could say the same about 'Ying and Shan."

He was right. Yeying and Xue Shan didn't anger easily. Their tempers were like boiling water: it took a while to heat up, but once it did, it would splash over the sides of the pot and douse the fire, and scald the cook. Tai Lung took a while to get truly angry, but he let a lot of things bother him until it built up inside. All it took was one little annoyance, and it would set him off.

Yet despite the danger and truth behind Ochir's words, I refused to believe that my student—my son—was truly capable of something as horrific as what Xue Shan had done. If I could have predicted what would happen a year later, I would have done more to check my student's quickly growing arrogance and pride before it consumed us and destroyed the Valley of Peace.

* * *

The day before the coronation, Tai Lung approached me in my temporary quarters, holding something wrapped in white cloth. "Master Shifu?"

I had been meditating, but had heard his footsteps long before he reached the door. The softness of his tone told me that he'd been overcome by some kind of intense emotion, but I couldn't identify it. I turned round to look at him…and it looked like he was fighting the urge to cry.

"Tai Lung, what is it?"

He paused, then slowly, reverently, approached me, laying the wrapped object at my feet. He didn't say anything, just staring at the white-clad object. I took the cue and unwrapped it.

My heart sunk into my stomach. I recognized it immediately.

It was the blade of the _pudao_ Yeying had the night the Cataclysm began. The pole had long ago been obliterated, snapped off, and deep scratches were left on the rusted blade. It looked like it had aged ten thousand years in just two decades. It had been the weapon of one of the Tenshu warriors, and beaten up as it had been the day my wife had first held it, the way it looked now told me the rest of the story. The fighting that night had been brutal, especially after she had gone back for…whoever it was.

"Master Flying Rhino told me they found this in…in a mass grave," he choked. He swallowed hard and continued, "He said you might want this," my student said quietly. Now I knew why he looked so emotional. Here was the undeniable proof that the woman I loved, and the mother he had never known, had existed, and had died… violently.

My eyes welled with tears and I fought the urge to break down. I sniffed, and my voice croaked. "Th-thank you. You are dismissed."

As he left the room, I heard him pause in the doorway. I knew he wanted to ask, he wanted to know everything about that night, but I couldn't tell him. Not only would it have hurt him to hear the story, it would have nearly killed me again to relive it. I had relived that night thousands of times in my dreams and nightmares, and in my waking hours it plagued my meditations. That last "I love you" rang in my ears as loudly as it had twenty years earlier.

_I'll be right behind you_. _I'll come back to you._

But she wasn't. She had never come back. I had not seen her name on the list of traitors, or on the list of the dead. But I knew that, as long as the list of the dead was, there was a postscript that stated that hundreds more unidentified souls had perished as well. So even in death, my beloved wife never received the recognition she deserved.

For the first time in twenty years, I cried over her death, one last time.

* * *

We left for the Valley immediately after Prince Xin was crowned Emperor Xian Xin. Tai Lung had begged to stay for the festivities, but Oogway refused, stating that he needed to complete his training.

"After all," my master told him, "I know of the conditions the Emperor gave you before he would grant your request. It is sound advice and a wise choice on his part. Besides, would it not be a greater honor to be named a master, then bestowed a family name after?"

Tai Lung grudgingly accepted it. It appeared that when he had accepted Xin's proposal, the young emperor had to convey that, though Tai Lung was a great warrior, it would be prudent to wait a year until Tai Lung became a master; besides that, it gave Xin a year to think of a suitable name for Tai Lung to have, one that was worthy of such a great warrior. Legitimate the reason may have been, but he was disappointed, I know. But he would hold the Emperor to that promise.

There was more to it than that, I found out later. Xin had indeed promised Tai Lung a name, but only after he became the Dragon Warrior. I doubt Xin ever knew that the Dragon Scroll was never an absolute, and not the Emperor's to give, nor decree to give to another. Tai Lung, I'm sure, knew that. He knew that it wasn't my choice or his choice, but Oogway's choice, and no one pushed Oogway to do something he didn't want to. Xin may have had nothing but respect for my master, but as far as knowledge of kung fu was concerned, there was a lot he clearly didn't understand.

That's not to say he didn't know anything at all. Tai Lung had taught him a few moves before we left, and Xin, it seemed, was not lying about his abilities at all. He just lacked confidence. Tai Lung was quick to tell him that he was very gifted, to which the young prince would deny, deny, deny. "I will be just the Emperor," the tiger had said, "but you, Tai Lung, will be the Dragon Warrior. The Dragon Warrior with a family name worthy of your greatness. In a year, you will have attained this, I'm sure of it. And when you have, I will give you your name. That I promise you."

Kind his words may have been, but who could have guessed how Xin's promise and ignorance could have contributed to the most violent time in the Valley's history?

When we were half of the way home, we stayed the night in an inn near a fishing village. My student and I shared a room, while Oogway was given one of his own. He pulled me aside after Tai Lung had fallen asleep and confessed to me,

"I would not have let him stay another day in the Imperial City, especially at the palace. I have been around a long time, and I know all too well the secrets and evils that haunt those halls."

"Why is everyone convinced that Tai Lung and Xue Shan are one and the same?" I snapped. "Ochir seems to believe it, you seem to believe it…"

"I do not believe it, my friend. My greatest worry is that Tai Lung would be blinded by the glory, blinded by the glittering baubles and useless riches. He needs to complete his training, remember all the lessons we have instilled. I do not doubt his physical strength, but his conduct amongst the Anvil of Heaven has concerned me. He is too boastful."

"But doesn't he have good reason to be?" I reasoned. "He's accomplished things that masters thrice his age can only dream of!"

"No Shifu, you don't understand," my master shook his head. "It is the culture of the army that has me worried. Those males are young, impressionable, brash and boastful. Tai Lung has never had the opportunity to spend much time with others his own age. He finds communion with these males, but it is only through immodest portrayals of his abilities that he gains access to their world. He needs to spend time with others who are more humble."

"Is that why we left so abruptly?" I asked.

"It is only one of the reasons. My next concern was the time he spent being idolized by Xian Xin. It does no good to him to have him worshipped as a higher being than the Emperor himself."

Well, that I had to agree with. Tai Lung certainly would have had his ego stoked that way, and who wouldn't? How many emperors in our history had been trained in kung fu? Oogway only knew of two. Well, three, now. Being the kung fu master of the Emperor of China was to put such a man a step above the most powerful man in the world. If that happened to Tai Lung, he would hold sway over the Son of Heaven, which ran the danger of the tiger being controlled and manipulated.

And the more I thought about it, the more I saw that Oogway was right. Tai Lung had become more boastful of late, believed he was capable of things that were nearly impossible, and believed himself to be above and beyond the abilities of most men. Ochir, I grudgingly admit, had been right. If we did not check him, Tai Lung would have not only humiliated us, his masters, but also himself. Especially himself.

I sighed and relented, "So he needs to complete his training on the scrolls, and we need to work on his outlook…"

"And keep him as far from the influence of the Imperial Palace as possible," Oogway warned. "I have no doubts to Emperor Xian Xin's integrity; it is the others that I fear. You are right, I do fear a reprisal of the past; I do fear that if we are not careful, Tai Lung will follow the path Xue Shan forged, but that is why we need to act now, before it is much too late."

I knew the conversation was over. I bowed and wished my master a good night's rest before retreating to the room Tai Lung and I shared. He was asleep on the floor, which surprised me, as there were two beds. Frowning, I tapped his shoulder, then realized his breathing was irregular. He was still awake.

"How much did you hear?" I asked.

He paused before he answered, "Everything."

"Is that why you're sleeping on the floor? To remind yourself of your place?"

"Partly…mostly…yes," he murmured. He paused again before continuing, "I know you're doing this for my own good, but I still feel disrespected."

"You, disrespected?" I scoffed. "Perhaps you do need to be reminded of your place. Despite what Xin believes, and what Vachir believes, you are not a master; you are still a student, and do not deserve the respect that a master receives. I am disappointed in you."

"Why?" he demanded, sitting up. "Because I'm finally realizing my true worth? My true potential?"

"For believing you are something you are not!" I snapped.

I could see him staring hard at me. Not quite a glare, but it held too much anger than I was comfortable with. "You believe I am the Dragon Warrior," he stated, raising his voice in anger. "Perhaps I'm not the only one who needs to be reminded—"

I don't know why I did it, but it didn't occur to me what I had done until after I had slapped him. He stared at me in utter shock and dismay, his hand rising up to gingerly touch the spot on his cheek where my hand had made contact.

"I have heard enough," I growled. "You are on probation as soon as we get home. You will have to earn that respect, young man. Now go to sleep. We have a long day ahead."

A growl suddenly ripped through his throat, "I know why you're doing this!" He glared at me, furious, "And I've got news for you, Shifu: I am NOT Xue Shan! And I will prove it to you even if it kills me!"

With that, he got up and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

* * *

Apparently Ochir, or Oogway—maybe both—had told him about Xue Shan. Meaning Tai Lung was fully aware of the similarities, and the differences. He was crossly silent the rest of the way home, avoiding contact with me whenever possible. He answered Oogway's direct questions, but never mine unless absolutely necessary. Oogway obviously knew what words had been exchanged, but he said nothing about it. He never mentioned it, actually.

When we got home, Tai Lung didn't even bother to drop his things off in his room. He went straight to the Sacred Hall of Warriors, sat at his desk and pulled out Scroll 992 and began studying. Oogway and I let him be.

"He is like a teapot," Oogway stated as we walked to the bunkhouse. "He's just a little steamed, but he will cool down if we do not touch it for a while."

"How do we know he's not harboring that anger?"

"He'll release it in the same way he always has," he sagely said. "I'd prepare the work order for a full repair of the Training Hall in advance, if I were you."

Sure enough, within the next two days, the Training Hall's training equipment had been smashed to splinters. It was the most expensive repair I've ever had to pay for. Miraculously, it seemed to do his mood a lot of good. The day after he completely trashed the facility, Tai Lung actually bothered to apologize to me for his conduct. I forgave him, and we continued as normal…except, we no longer had that same connection we had enjoyed as master and student before I had rebuked him in the tavern.

* * *

A few weeks later, we received an unlikely visit from Commander Vachir. He came alone, with news from the capital, and a large package to deliver; he also, of course, came to see his newest friend.

"So where is he?" he asked me. "Still training?"

"He's either in the training hall or in the Hall of Warriors." I looked up at the rhino and smirked at the package he had delivered. "By the way, the stand is ready for you to place the armor on."

He nodded and patted the crate, lifting it effortlessly onto his shoulder. I followed him, curious as to my student's progress as well as the gift Ochir had sent.

The tale of the Battle against the Warriors of Guangdong had reached all across China, and because of the success of the battle (and Ochir's semi-retirement), he had gifted his armor (used only once, I might add) to be housed in the Sacred Hall of Warriors. Besides that, "it would've only gathered dust in the back of my closet anyway", he'd told me in the letter he sent with it.

Vachir spotted my student as soon as he entered the hall. The rhino dropped the crate and strolled over to Tai Lung, who was so engrossed in his reading that he didn't even know we were there until Vachir slapped his hand onto the feline's back. Tai Lung's fur stood on end as he yowled in surprise. Vachir only laughed, "Jeez, kid, take a breather. You're really jumpy for some guy who grew up in the boondocks."

Tai Lung chuckled, smoothing his fur down. "Look who's talking Mister 'Outer Mongolia'."

"Hey, don't you be dissin' my hometown."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he said as they embraced. "When did you get here? I didn't even know you were coming."

"'Bout an hour ago. Master Flying Rhino sent his armor along, and I thought I'd drop in to see how my ole war buddy's doing."

Tai Lung sighed and shook his head, rubbing his stiff neck. "I'm…I'm fine."

"What's with the pause?"

"What pause?" my student asked, "There's no pause."

"Did you hear a pause?" Vachir asked me.

"Pause," I concurred.

Tai Lung groaned, "I'm fine, really. I'm just a little tired."

"Been workin' your tail off, huh?" Vachir asked with an arched brow.

"I need to finish these scrolls," the snow leopard murmured, as if entranced, hypnotized. "I'm so close…"

"Tai," Vachir asked, "when was the last time you got a good night's sleep?"

"Last night." He faltered under his friend's expression. "I…dozed, a little. A catnap."

"How long?"

"Two hours. I slept at my desk."

Vachir sighed raggedly, shaking his head at my student's obstinacy, "Look, kitty—"

"_Don't_ call me kitty!" Tai Lung viciously snarled.

Vachir backed off, "Whoa, _okay_, someone's a little testy…"

Tai Lung took a deep breath and let it out, rubbing his tired eyes. I couldn't believe myself; how and _why_ did it take me so long to notice the dark circles and bags under his eyes? How long had he had that blank, tired expression? When was the last time he actually _slept_?

"Sorry," he apologized. "I haven't been sleeping well lately."

"Have you thought of taking a break?"

Tai Lung's eyes flicked over to me before looking back at his friend. I sighed; he wasn't going to say anything with me there, though it looked like he wanted to complain, and loudly. "I'm so close…" he repeated.

I rolled my eyes, "Tai Lung, why don't you be a gracious host and welcome our guest? Your studies will be here when you return, after the Commander has left for the Imperial City again. Both of you, go catch up, and Tai Lung, I expect a full night's sleep tonight, straight after dinner. Commander, can I trust you to ensure my orders are carried out?"

Vachir nodded and bowed, "Yes, Master Shifu."

"Good." As they walked—well, plodded, in Tai Lung's case—out of the Hall of Warriors, I heard Vachir offer, "Let's go down to the village, getcha something to take the edge off…"

"I don't drink, you know that."

"Only when Shifu's around, and he won't be down there. C'mon, what're a few drinks between friends?"

"It's not a good idea."

"The hell it isn't. A couple drinks'll help you sleep."

"And my master would kill me if I did."

Vachir laughed, "I need to tell you what my master told me about Shifu at the Dragon Boat Festival!"

I cursed quietly. Ochir had apparently told his student about that one year at the Dragon Boat Festival when I got so inebriated—mostly Li and Shan's fault at insisting we play that awful drinking game—that I…well, I'll spare you the details. I was eighteen; needless to say, Yeying had not forgiven me for kissing…how many girls had it been? Shan swore I'd kissed a few men too, and gotten into some compromising positions with quite a few members of both sexes, but I figured he was lying. At least I hope he was. And now that Tai Lung would know about it, I knew he'd never let me live it down.

* * *

The two of them didn't get back until just before dinner. I was shocked to see both of them with wide grins, but with one major difference: Vachir could hold his alcohol, but Tai Lung…not so much. It wasn't his fault; he had never been much of a drinker. Though I suspected that while Vachir was expert at knowing how many drinks a rhino could take, perhaps he wasn't aware that felines weren't so hardy.

It amazed both Oogway and I that my student actually ate a full meal that night, tipsy as he was. Though actually, even Oogway admitted that he wasn't sure if my student's tired expression was insomnia or alcohol-induced. Vachir's plan worked, though. Tai Lung had not slept a full eighteen hours since he was a baby.

"Are you concerned about him?" I asked my master later that evening.

"Not now," he smiled. "Vachir has been a much-needed respite for him. Keeping him around for a few days will do a world of good. I was more concerned with how hard your student is pushing himself: five days on only two hours of sleep is not healthy for anyone."

"I know you were concerned of Tai Lung's boastfulness amongst the Anvil of Heaven…"

"I was, but I do not get that same feeling from Vachir. He seems much more like his master. He is brash, but what youth isn't? In time, both he and Tai Lung will mature and calm. Until then, we must continue to monitor him." He said nothing further for the rest of the night, which gave me a bad feeling.

Somehow, he knew that I had struck my student in a fit of anger, I just knew it. Oogway had been unusually distant to me since we returned, and spent more time with Tai Lung. I wasn't a fool, but I did feel slightly betrayed. I realize now that I had been completely out of line. Oogway had never struck me, no matter how disrespectful I was to him. Yet at the time I still believed myself to be correct, to be justified; now that I know the damage it caused, I know better.

Vachir stayed for a week then returned to the Imperial City. He promised a visit again, with the rest of the Anvil, to catch up, which I was probably more grateful for than Tai Lung was. In only a week, my student looked better rested and more relaxed than I had ever seen him. I should have allowed him more time for friends. I had forgotten how much joy it had brought me to have so many people to count on. Now, it was just me, Oogway and Tai Lung again…and he felt he only had himself to count on.

* * *

Two weeks later, as I lay asleep late at night, I was rudely roused from slumber. Someone set a lantern on my bedside table and when I opened my eyes, I saw Tai Lung standing above me. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Master," he said to me, kneeling next to my bed. I saw in the low light that he looked just as tired as before Vachir's visit. The dark circles were even more pronounced, his sagging shoulders telling me that he was so hell-bent on mastering all the scrolls before the end of the year that he was willing to give up eating and sleeping in order to accomplish it. But I also noted something had…changed. He looked…happy, yet slightly nervous.

"Tai Lung, what is it?"

He bit his lip and handed me one of the scrolls.

"Ah, you need help with something?" I asked, throwing the covers off. "Can't this wait until morning?"

"Just open it."

Confused, and slightly offended at the order from my own student, I opened the scroll…and gaped at the number.

"Scroll One Thousand…" I gaped at him, staring in astonishment. Then it hit me. "This is…this is the one thousandth scroll, isn't it? You mastered it, didn't you?"

He finally smiled and nodded. When I didn't react right away, he looked a little worried, "…Are you happy?"

I finally whooped and jumped up out of bed and laughed joyously, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Am I?! You bet your sorry spotted hide I'm happy! Ha! You did it! I'll be damned—my student, the first ever to master the Thousand Scrolls of Kung Fu…and he's _MY_ STUDENT! HOT _DAMN_!"

He grinned and laughed, hugging me back in celebration. The frantic scurrying of servants outside the room was the only indication that we had aroused any sort of reaction by our jubilance. When I finally came down from my ecstatic high, I grasped my student's shoulders, "Go, get to the bathhouse, wash up, your best clothes, now—it's time I presented you to Master Oogway."

* * *

The next day, Tai Lung was called to the Sacred Hall of Warriors at high noon. Both Tai Lung and I stood proudly. Today was the day. A day fifteen years in the making, fifteen long, arduous years of intense training, bone-breaking labor and thousands of hours studying all one thousand scrolls of kung fu.

Oogway faced my student, studying his face, then lifted his hand. Tai Lung sent me a look, unsure of what was happening; I knew that it was Oogway's way of measuring a person's _chi_. That was how the Dragon Warrior was chosen—he, or she, would have a specific energy, an unmistakable aura that marked them as the Chosen One. Tai Lung smiled proudly, nervous and excited at the same time, but also looking quite tired. He had mastered eight scrolls in three weeks, with as little as three hours of sleep a week, barely a meal a day, working hard until he was sure he had perfected every last detail. As far as I was concerned, he practically deserved the Dragon Scroll after all that hard work.

After a long, quiet moment, Oogway lowered his arm and opened his eyes. Tai Lung puffed out his chest, waiting for the verdict while I waited with bated breath for the announcement that would make me the proudest father in China…

"I'm sorry. He is not the one."

My face fell. Sorry? Sorry for…then my heart shattered. He couldn't be serious. He couldn't…

He was.

Oogway was not going to make Tai Lung the Dragon Warrior.

I was stunned. How? Had he not proven himself? Had Oogway not heard all of the things my student had accomplished? All of the lives he'd saved, the innocent people he protected, the cities that were still standing…Tai Lung even restored the gods-damned _dynasty_ for Hell's sake! Did all of that mean nothing?!

As my master turned his back on us, I looked up at Tai Lung, who looked just as devastated as I felt. I could see his heart breaking, and it killed me to watch, second by second, how his calm, confident exterior degenerated into a disconsolate stare, then a pleading expression, silently begging, 'What are you doing? Talk to him! Tell him he's wrong!'

"Shifu…" my student finally croaked, his face paling. "_Shifu_…" he pleaded again.

I dropped eye contact with him. How could I look him in the eye? I had failed him. I had given him such hope; I knew he was the Dragon Warrior, I _knew_ it. Hadn't all the signs been there? The Dragon Warrior had to know kung fu, he had to be humble, gracious, kind and patient; he had to have a pure soul, and hadn't Tai Lung had the purest intentions in becoming the Dragon Warrior?

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Tai Lung had turned his back and was storming out of the Hall. I followed after him, "Tai Lung."

"What did I do?" he snapped when we were outside. "_What_ did I _do_?! Everything I've done…does it all mean nothing to him?!"

"Tai Lung, I understand you're upset…" I started; he was overreacting, but he was overtired, I understood that. Who _wouldn't_ be short-tempered after so little sleep?

"Upset?!" he interrupted. "No, screwing up on a move I worked for weeks to perfect makes me upset. This—this, right now—this is _not_ upset—this is _furious_!"

"You need to calm down," I said. "Take some deep breaths…"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"What?"

"Back there, why didn't you stand up for me? Why didn't you tell him he was wrong?"

"Because the Great Oogway is never wrong," I answered instinctively.

A cloud suddenly passed over the sun and that summer day at high noon became unnaturally chilly. Tai Lung turned his back, and when he looked over his shoulder to look at me, I couldn't identify the look I saw in his eye. I had never seen it before, and it bothered me a great deal. Suddenly, he whispered, "You're right—he's never wrong…"

He walked away, never looking back, not even once.

* * *

"Are you _sure_ he's not the Dragon Warrior?" I asked my master immediately after.

"Do you have so little faith in your master?" he asked me.

"But I don't understand…" I finally told him. "You said that you would someday give someone the Dragon Scroll…"

"I _did_ say that," my master said. "And Tai Lung was not the one."

"How…how can you say that? After all he's done, after all _I've_ done?! How can you deny—"

"Shifu," he tersely said; I was silenced immediately. "Shifu," he continued, a bit softer in tone. "All suffering is caused by desire. Tai Lung desired the Dragon Scroll. He did not receive it. Thus, he suffers."

"Of _course_ he desired the scroll! What kung fu warrior in our history has _not_ desired it?!"

"Indeed, and what warrior would _not_ feel anger at such a rejection? But Tai Lung should see that—Dragon Warrior or not—he is still the greatest warrior in kung fu history…in Chinese history…perhaps in world history. He's pushed himself very hard since we returned from the Imperial City; he's overtired, overworked, and the stress is making it difficult for him to see that he is already a hero. You have trained your student well, Shifu. Both of you should be proud of what he has accomplished in just twenty years. In fact, when he calms down and comes back, I fully intend to make him a master today." He chuckled at my shocked expression. "Like I'm going to ignore a feat as impressive as mastering the Thousand Scrolls of Kung Fu? You should know me better than that by now. Hmm, 'Tai Lung, Master of the Thousand Scrolls'…has a nice ring, don't you think?"

But becoming a master wasn't good enough. Tai Lung believed he needed to be the Dragon Warrior in order to have the only thing he _truly_ wanted: a family name. I argued, "I made him believe…but if he's not the one, _who_?"

"I don't know. He—or she—will make themselves known someday. Maybe not during my lifetime, or even yours, or Tai Lung's, or his children's, or…well, you get it. We may never know who the Dragon Warrior is. But it is not for us to decree what is Heaven's Will. If Heaven does not wish us to know peace just yet, then it is not how it will be. What will be, will be. There is no sense in fighting our destiny."

"But it _was_ his destiny! How could you deny…"

He held up a hand to silence me. When I fell quiet, he answered, "He has too much darkness in his heart. He is not pure."

"How is that possible? He wanted to be the Dragon Warrior…"

"And for a very noble reason, I admit; I remember his resolve when he was a small child, and his reasons for being the best of the best. He loves you, and wanted to protect you. But his conduct in battle concerns me. He was willing to kill, and his heart of late has not been pure, bogged down by too much pride and too little humility—that is not the mark of the Dragon Warrior."

"He would kill for _me_, for anyone he loved and respected! Master, how does that alone qualify for darkness in his heart?"

"It is not in the nature of a pure soul to want to inflict pain on another. Were he unwilling to fight because he did not want to kill another, that is entirely different."

"But…" I sighed, "He worked so hard…"

"And it shows. He worked very hard, harder than any other warrior I have ever seen or heard of. It is no small task to master all of these scrolls in a lifetime, especially as young as he is. As I see it, the Dragon Warrior is meant to bring peace to this Valley, and to China…"

"But the fighting is not over," I argued. "There's still a need. The Emperor, Xian Xin, he wants to fight side-by-side with Tai Lung to bring peace."

"And you think the only way to bring peace is with a sword? No, my friend, that is not the way. Violence breeds fear, fear breeds contempt. I admire that Prince Xin survived the Cataclysm and the massacre of his family, which proves his strong convictions and even stronger will, but truthfully, it is his willingness to bring peace through diplomacy, not death, that marks him as being a likelier candidate than your student."

"This is a mistake."

"Again, do you have so little faith in me? Or too much faith in him?"

Before I could answer, a palace servant burst in, breathless and in a wild panic. "Master Oogway! Master—it's Tai Lung!"

Oogway looked back at the pig, and suddenly his face paled, "What is it, Hu?"

"Masters…Tai Lung is attacking the village."

* * *

I staggered on my feet. "That can't be possible…I was just talking to him!"

"Sir," Hu approached me, "I saw it with my own eyes. He's snapped! He killed—"

I didn't hear who the unfortunate soul was. I couldn't wrap my mind around the concept. My student—my son—killing in cold blood? It couldn't be possible. I knew he was angry, but to take it out on the villagers? It didn't make sense; I'm sure he was provoked. The next thing he said sent chills through my soul.

"Master Shifu, he's coming for the Dragon Scroll, and he doesn't care who tries to stop him."

I turned to look back at Oogway; his face had hardened in a way I had seen only once, and my heart fell. The minute he heard the news of Tai Lung's rampage, that he had killed innocent people, was the last straw…there was no way my son could be forgiven. He had completely given in to the darkness inside him. A darkness I had not seen. A darkness I had somehow created.

And I needed to stop him. It was the only way.

"Bar the doors," Oogway ordered. "Get the others to safety, but leave as many obstacles in place as you can to slow him down. He will come for the Dragon Scroll, try to take it by force, and we will be here to stop him."

"But…" Hu stammered; it hurt to see a former student of mine so terrified for his life, and because of my son. But Heaven bless his soul, he was more concerned for us than for himself. "What if he kills you, too?"

"It is a risk we are willing to take to protect this valley," my master said. After a pause, he dismissed my former student, "Go, get to safety, and for Heaven's sake, be out of here before he comes."

Hu nodded, bowed and ran to do his bidding. It was the last time I saw him alive.

* * *

It took very little time for Tai Lung to make it up the mountain. My sensitive hearing had picked up the horrified screams and wails below in the valley long before we heard his roars. Smashing wood and cracking stone told us he had just stormed through the gates to the Arena. The lack of screams at first told us that the servants had obeyed Oogway's order to evacuate. As it turned out, none of them had the chance to scream before they were cut down.

We only heard one curdled scream from a servant who had not heeded the warning, then abrupt silence. Oogway and I shared a look and I stepped forward. The silence was paralyzing…then suddenly the Hall's doors smashed open with a spray of splinters and shattered wood. First was the spray of debris, then Tai Lung's fist, and finally his face, contorted into a vicious expression of fury and rage.

He bounded across the floor, hell-bent on taking the scroll…and I could see from the look in his eyes that he didn't care who he cut down in order to get it.

I wouldn't have another chance. I raced forward, leapt into the air to deliver the first blow of battle. I needed to stop him, if I didn't…

But I couldn't. The moment before my foot collided, I didn't see the monster I had somehow created—I saw the cub, the innocent little cub who called me "Baba" and took his first steps on the same day, arms held out to me, begging to be held. I had to stop _him_ from attaining the only thing he had ever truly wanted…but how could I?

I hesitated, and it was a near-fatal mistake.

I had expected mercy from him; I didn't get it. He swiped his hand out, colliding with my right hip. I heard a loud crunching crack, and pain shot up the entire right side of my body. He punched me hard enough to send me back twenty yards, hitting the floor with another series of cracked bones. I watched helplessly as he pounced with a mighty roar, straight for the scroll…

And Oogway had jumped as well, striking him in the bottom of the throat with his staff, freezing him in mid-air. My master hit him four times at various points on his chest; I heard Tai Lung gasp, then watched as he fell to the floor in a crumpled heap, out cold.

It happened so fast I had a hard time processing what I'd seen. But as the shock wore off and reality set in, I felt the heartache coming back to me. How had this happened? What had set him off? Was it desperation? Was it the need to know where he had come from? Was it his pride, his fervent belief that if he didn't deserve the Dragon Scroll, no one did? No…it had been my pride that was his downfall. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't forget that I had raised him as a son. I couldn't forget that he _was_ my son.

Though intense agony ripped through my body, enough to knock me out, I dragged myself—broken hip, cracked ribs, broken leg and all—towards the unconscious snow leopard. I reached my hand out, feeling the need to touch him, but I stopped myself. How could I? How could I condone what happened? Touching him, smoothing the fur on his head, tenderly like a father to his cub…that's what it would mean. I would be defending him…and I couldn't do that. In the days to come, as I learned of the atrocities, the body count, the orphaned children, I couldn't defend him any longer.

It had taken twenty years, but I finally cut the ties that bound us as father and son.

* * *

The nerve attack wasn't lifted on him until three days later, so that he could eat and drink, and in Oogway's presence, for safety's sake. As soon as he was done, the nerve attack was reapplied. I was still recovering from my injuries, but even if I could walk, I wouldn't have been able to face him. Oogway came to me, five days after the rampage, and told me the news.

"The magistrate is out for his blood—the villagers are demanding retribution." He paused, looking as if a great weight had fallen upon him. "They are calling for his immediate execution."

I felt sick.

"…I have refused their orders."

"What?"

He sighed. "Despite his sins, Tai Lung does not deserve death. The laws of the Jade Palace are different from the laws of the Valley. He is not a citizen of the Valley and never has been—he is subject to my word, my Law, and I decree that he is to be imprisoned…for life."

The sick feeling was still there, but it was lessened. Though I was aghast at his numerous crimes—including the deaths of three palace servants, Hu among them as he tried vainly to stand in Tai Lung's way to protect us—watching as my son was executed would have certainly killed me, and cut me deeper than even imagining the horrible end my wife Yeying must have suffered.

"No mere prison can hold him," I said quietly. "He would break through the walls, break off any chains, defy the guards, perhaps harm them too."

"I thought of that. Fortunately, I have found a solution. He will leave China to be incarcerated."

I looked up at him from my bed. "Where?"

"Outer Mongolia. Lady Borte arrived last night—Master Flying Rhino has offered his services. He and his students, the Anvil of Heaven, have a school, carved out of solid rock inside a great mountain, built as strong as any fortress. As long as Tai Lung exists outside China, far from civilization where he can do harm, the Valley—and China—will be safe."

"He could still break out…"

"I have also thought of that."

* * *

The next time I saw my son was also the last time. A week later, a servant who had survived the rampage helped walk me with a crutch under my arm, down to the cellar, where Tai Lung was being held. When I got down there, Ochir was standing by the door to the locked cell, keys and rolled parchment in hand. A single yellow lantern provided the only light in that basement, far below the Jade Palace. Ochir sighed when he saw me and helped me into a seat.

"I thought you might want to see how we'll hold him," he said judiciously. I'm glad he kept my feelings in mind. "I know he meant a lot to you. Oogway and I planned this so that it's as humane as possible. The school's been reformatted as a full-fledged fortress: one way in, one way out, all other entrances and exits blocked. There are four to five levels, patrolled around the clock, with a changing of the guard every two hours…Tai Lung will be on the lowest level."

_In the deepest circle of Hell_, I thought.

"There's a natural formation, a stalagmite, which we carved down to serve as a flat, low platform. His wrists are going to be bound spread-eagled, chained to two identical boulders. We anticipated that he'd easily be able to lift them, strong as he is…so Oogway designed this."

He opened up the parchment, laid it flat on the wall for me to see. It was an intricately designed contraption, shaped like a tortoise shell, which multiple holes in the back. Specifically designed poles of jade were to be inserted into these holes, and one at the back of the neck was to lock the mechanism in place.

"What are the poles for?" I asked.

"They'll press against different pressure points in his back, keeping him immobilized," he explained. "Oogway's fitting him with it right now, while he's still unconscious. Once he's done, we'll be able to escort him to the prison from here."

I sighed, "He's very creative." I meant that he would somehow, some way, find a way to escape.

"We know," my old friend said. "The thing that would unlock it is delicate enough that no ordinary key can open it—if he tried opening it with anything bigger than, say, a quill, the lock would break and there would be nothing he or anyone else could do to get that thing off of him…unless, of course, if he died."

"It sounds like you thought of everything."

He nodded solemnly. "We did our best for him," he said, gently patting my back. "He was a good kid…" _Was_, I heard silently emphasized. "…but he's still just a kid, you know? I hate to see him suffer any more than you do."

"Will you stay there?"

He shook his head. "Borte and I are moving closer to the capital—I'm leaving Vachir in charge there. He and the Anvil of Heaven will be his guards."

One thousand guards for one prisoner may sound excessive, but we need to remember that this was Tai Lung we were talking about. He was no ordinary prisoner. And it tore at my heart to think of Vachir…poor Vachir. He and Tai Lung had been so close and as true as friends could be, but how could the Commander possibly guard over the one he had called a brother in arms? I could hear him, through the door, berating Tai Lung, saying words like "betrayal", "disgrace", "dishonor", and spitting out the word "liar" like it was poison.

I sighed heavily. Vachir had truly believed Tai Lung had the best intentions. Now that Tai Lung had betrayed that trust and killed innocent people, there was no way the commander could ever forgive him. Had I not heard his exact words, I would have guessed his fury at this betrayal from his tone. "I trusted you! I don't care what kind of past we have, I will never forgive you for what you did! Death's too good for you, so I hope you're happy!"

Ochir just shook his head, feeling as sorry for Vachir as I did. Though I could see some recognition there; he must have felt and said the same things after Xue Shan's betrayal. But I could also tell that despite his anger at our old friend's conduct…he had eventually forgiven him. He knew that harboring hate for too long would only breed contempt and corrupt the soul. Unfortunately, I never quite learned that lesson.

"We'll be leaving shortly, if you wanted to say goodbye," Ochir said quietly.

I nodded, feeling numb, but that could have been the opium given to me to kill the pain. Ochir helped me over to the door, which opened to allow Oogway and Vachir to exit, and me to enter. Two rhinos followed them, allowing me one last chance to speak with my student alone.

I could see his eyes shining in the darkness, and the look in them chilled me. I had never seen such hatred before, such disdain, and it made my blood run cold.

"What happened to you?" I asked. "You had it all, and you threw it all away, why?"

"I didn't have it all," he hissed. "I almost did, but it was stolen from me."

"If you were not meant to have the scroll, you were not meant for it." I sighed, leaning heavily on my crutch. "Tai Lung, you killed scores of innocent people, and for what? For glory?"

"I did it to protect you."

"Don't you dare," I snapped. "I've been safe ever since Rong Lang was assassinated—this was for purely selfish reasons."

He was silent for a long while, then said with derision, "Fine, I don't expect you to understand. I can't change your mind, so what's the fucking point?"

I stepped back in alarm. In his whole life, I had never heard him curse like that. But, if he had soiled his soul, why should his tongue be immune?

"So you're going to lock me away and throw away the key, even though I was fully within my rights…"

"Did nothing Oogway teach you get through your head?" I asked. "I don't care who you think you are—no one has the right to take another's life."

"Theft is the most unforgivable crime of all," he chuckled darkly. "Oh, I remember now. And so what? That senile old man doesn't have the guts to kill me, so he might as well forget about me."

I set my jaw, and for the first time, I hardened my heart: "And so shall I. Good bye, Tai Lung."

With that parting shot, I limped out, hoping never to see him again. That was, of course, a vain hope.

* * *

After he was taken away—for I was not even there to watch the procession of guards carting him away in a cage and chains—I tried to do as was suggested: to forget. It was difficult, however. Once my broken bones healed, the doctors and I found that the fractures had not been correctly set; I would walk with a limp for the rest of my life.

I couldn't bear to walk to his room, but six weeks after he left, I walked in and started removing various things. His books, old kung fu memorabilia, and other possessions I gave away to the servants to sell. I let them keep the profits, to do with however they pleased. Many of them donated it all to the families of Tai Lung's victims.

I did keep one thing, however. Nestled away, in a place, perhaps, he hoped no one would ever find, I found his treasured stuffed bear, Tai Ping. I discovered the hiding spot, behind his bed, under a floorboard he had pried loose. There were many treasures down there, including his copy of The Art of War that Miao Li had given him.

It tore at me to imagine what she'd think of what he had done, but I received a small miracle in the form of a short letter from one of my former in-laws. The oldest son wrote to tell me that his Honored Father passed away from a stroke not long after the battle. Miao Li followed soon after, some believe she died of a broken heart. I saw a silver lining: both of them went to their graves never knowing the fate of their favored grandson.

I took these treasures of his, and as much as I wanted to toss them away to the refuse pile—for I was still angry with him—I couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead, I took a cue from him, and took all my own treasures from out of storage. The fingerless gloves and scroll painting that had been wedding gifts, gifts and honors from the Late Emperor Yi, various trinkets from my childhood, heirlooms I inherited after my family's passing, and now the reminders of my son's happy childhood. I found a floorboard in my quarters and jimmied it loose, luckily finding the perfect space to hide these things away. When I was done, I set the board back, and nailed it back into place, intending never to see them again.

As soon as I was done, I began my twenty-year journey to find inner peace. I started with meditation, but eventually opted for spending my days playing on my grandfather's flute. I had hoped now that I had removed all the painful memories from my sight that I would finally find the peace I had craved ever since the Cataclysm. As it turned out, I would not find peace until I was well into my autumn years, when finally, the Dragon Warrior was chosen.

* * *

Crane set the scroll aside and reached for the next one. He jumped when Viper's tail whipped out and wrapped around his talon. "Please don't, not yet, okay?"

"Why not?" he asked. "If we don't finish these soon…"

"She's got a point, Crane," Po said. "I really think we should meditate on what we just heard."

"I'll keep that in mind, _Shifu_," Crane snapped. Po frowned, crossing his arms; Tigress narrowed her eyes dangerously at the bird. Crane sighed and rubbed the back of his long neck, "Okay, that was uncalled for, I'm sorry. But I just refuse to believe that Tai Lung killed because he didn't get a name. I mean, that's _incredibly_ selfish…"

"No its not," Tigress said. The other five warriors—except Monkey—stared at her, wondering what she could have possibly meant. Tigress pushed the cast iron teapot, long gone cold, to the middle of the table and sighed, "A family is everything. You all knew who your parents were, you knew who your ancestors were…he never did. I wish I could say he was selfish, but truthfully, I can't fault him."

"Why not?!" Mantis gaped at her. "He tried to kill you!"

"He wanted the scroll because he wanted an identity!" she snapped back. "I can at least sympathize!"

"Even though it may never have happened if Shifu had just given Tai Lung his family name," Po said.

The room went silent, and five pairs of eyes turned to look at him. The panda squirmed a little, "What?"

After a long pause, Monkey said, "…You're right. If Shifu had not renounced Tai Lung as his son…"

"Tai Lung would have had a family, and ancestors," Viper continued.

"And would've had no reason to desire the scroll as much as he did," Crane finished.

"But Master Oogway was going to name him a master anyway," Tigress said, studying the wood grain on the table. "The rampage…if Tai Lung had known he would still be a master anyway…would that have stopped him?"

"Surely Emperor Xian Xin would have given him a name anyway, if Shifu hadn't done it sooner!" Viper reasoned.

"I don't think it occurred to him to do that," Po said glumly. "I mean, you read it, you heard it. Ochir—er, Master Flying Rhino told him that Tai Lung had always had Shifu's family name to fall back on…"

"Talk about cruel irony," Mantis nodded.

Tigress sighed and reached for the next scroll, unrolling it just a little to peek at the next topic. She decided to give it some time to sink in, allow everyone their time to reflect on the events leading up to Tai Lung's downfall.

She expected this scroll to be all about how Po became the Dragon Warrior. To her astonishment, it wasn't. She read the title of the next scroll aloud, as if by uttering the words they would sink in faster:

"The Advent of the Furious Five, and how Master Tigress became my daughter..."

* * *

Muchas gracias to Nievelion for betaing this chapter for me. You're the best! Luckily for all you readers out there in teh intarwebs, I have the last few chapters already completed and are ready for posting on my traditional weekly basis. Please leave a review, and thanks for reading!


	21. Chapter 21

Updating early as I will be out of town this weekend. Hope you enjoy!

I keep forgetting this…Disclaimer: I do not own Master Shifu, or anything from Kung Fu Panda. All OCs belong to me, and please do not use them without my permission. Thank you.

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

Chapter 21

* * *

"…Wait, what?" Po asked. Tigress' face paled, her head feeling light. She felt Monkey's gaze on her. He had been right, Monkey had been right about Shifu mentioning her somewhere in these scrolls. But it was how it was written: the Furious Five first, and then her name written as if it were an afterthought. She had been right. Shifu had never truly cared about her. He did it because he was forced into it, wasn't it obvious? He had never taken any pleasure out of training her. He was forced to train her, and even when he brought her to the Jade Palace, he was distant and cold…

And now Shifu was going to gloat about it, going to completely destroy her through his memoirs, and in front of her friends, and the entire empire, if these scrolls were ever published. Only Monkey knew her full story, and even that was more than she was comfortable with.

"Wait," Po paused, "Shifu…is your dad?"

"No," she said bitterly, gripping the closed scroll. "Shifu is my master." She felt bile rising to her throat; for some reason, she really didn't want Po to know either. Especially not Po. It probably wouldn't hurt for him to know, would it? But there was one thing Tigress could not stand, it was someone pitying her, and that is exactly what the panda would do once he knew. But the real reason she began to feel sick…Tai Lung had said the same exact thing. _He is not my father; he is my master._

She risked going down the same dark path, the same mistakes, and all to achieve her father's—no, her _master's_—love. Or at least pride…would it have killed him to say "I'm proud of you" just _once_? Without realizing, tears had sprouted in her eyes and it became hard to breathe. Po stopped her as she raced for the door.

"Hey! Tigress, where're you going? Don't you want to know what he—"

"NO!" she roared, "No, I don't care what he said about me, okay? I just don't want to be here."

"Why not?" he pressed. The other Five prudently fell silent, each already knowing the reason for her circumspection. Tigress glared at him, "It's none of your damn business, panda," she growled.

"You're upset," he said sternly, "And as your friend, I'm forced to be worried about you. Don't you want to hear…"

"Hear what?!" she finally snapped, raging at him, "Hear how disappointed he is? How worthless I am? How everything I do isn't good enough for him? How I can bleed out and break every bone in my body, just to have him say he's proud of me, only to get snubbed because I can't be the son he wants so damn much?!"

Po drew back, shocked by her outburst. In ten seconds, he had learned more about Tigress than he thought he'd learn in a lifetime. It hurt to him to hear that, and why? Because he had felt that way about his own dad: how he couldn't seem to make him happy, that he only wanted to be a good son, but he wasn't happy trying to make his father happy. He had spent his entire life playing a part, playing the dutiful son who wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of his life making noodles like his father, his father's father, and _his_ father's father, and the friend who lost the restaurant in a game of mahjong.

But he wasn't happy. Being at the Jade Palace and following his dream made him happy. But Tigress wasn't. She took in a shaky breath and said quietly, "I have spent my entire life trying to earn his approval…and it never happened. I tried to be a good daughter, and obedient daughter, but he always wanted a son. Ever since I met him, all he had for me was criticism, negativity, and not once did he ever say he was glad he had …" she stopped herself just in time.

"That he'd ever what?" Po asked, gently coaxing her to say it. To his shock, he saw a single tear falling down her cheek.

"I lied when I said I had parents…"

Her friends—except Monkey—gasped. "You…" Viper started. "But why would you lie about…?"

"Because I was an orphan," she admitted sullenly, ears pressed back against her head. Finally, her dirty little secret was not so secret anymore. "Shifu adopted me, but I don't know why, because it's clear he never loved me," Tigress sighed, wiping her stray tears away with the back of her hand. "That's why I don't want to stay for this. I don't want to hear it. Hearing it from him is bad enough, I don't need you to it read to me."

Po looked back over at the Five, catching Monkey's glance. The simian cleared his throat and got up, offering Tigress an almond cookie. She stared at the familiar symbol of their long-standing friendship, feeling choked up that he remembered the first thing he did to welcome her into his life.

"Stay," the primate said. "If something comes up, you can leave. We'll let you know when we finish. You need to understand that, you're our friend, and we love you, and care about you. So even if Shifu never loved you—a _big_ If—you still have us."

Po did the bravest thing he had done by far: he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a tight bear hug. "I'll read it if you want."

Tigress sniffed, taking deep breaths and blinking rapidly to keep the tears at bay. As petrified as she was of losing his respect, she was happy for the offer. Any time Po narrated, he always read with a soft, nonbiased and understanding way. He wasn't judgmental like Mantis, or looking for scandal like Viper had done. Even Monkey and Crane had scoffed at certain parts of the narrative. But never Po. At that point, he was the best person—the only person—she could trust.

She nodded and sat down next to him, accepting a plate of almond cookies, the tried and true comfort food, and let the Dragon Warrior begin.

* * *

After Tai Lung, I felt as devastated as I did after losing Yeying. I showed my mourning—both at my son and at the confirmation of my wife's death—by purging all luxuries from my life. Every piece of silk I owned, gifts from dignitaries and other such items I gave away; I dressed myself in brown homespun robes that I wear to this day, to remind me of my lowly birth and to keep my pride in check. I told myself I didn't deserve the luxuries I had enjoyed before; perhaps I didn't. I truly had very good reason to mourn. All light in my life had been extinguished.

This time, however, I knew better than to wallow in self-loathing and despair. I needed to find focus and inner peace, or I risked being disappointed again. For fifteen years, Tai Lung had been my only student. The simple answer to my problem was, of course, to take on new students, to try and forget…but how could I?

As unforgivable as the rampage was, he was still my son, and I could hardly disown him. I couldn't even meet his eyes when they locked him into his restraints. I couldn't bring myself to go see the place where he would kneel forevermore, until the day he died…I wasn't strong enough. The memory of that pain is still too fresh, like an open wound. Three years after he was locked away in Chorh-Gom, I had still not found new students, and wasn't accepting any applications.

Unfortunately, Oogway didn't see things my way. Just as he had convinced me to eat all of my supper when I was four years old, he—in a roundabout way—got me to take on and raise one more student.

In doing so, he saved my life a third time.

* * *

I had a memory of a time, shortly before the rampage, when I encountered a peculiar new arrival to the Valley of Peace. Now, as you are well aware, Tai Lung was so dedicated to his training that getting him to leave the Palace every once in a while was a rather difficult task. On one fine spring day, I decided he needed some new clothes—after all, his promising future as an ambassador required it—and there was only one place in the Valley I trusted with such care.

It was a laundry and tailor shop, recently opened, and the proprietor was a young woman, a tigress, whose work was exquisite. She hadn't been in the valley long, but she already had quite the reputation. The day, I recall, was warm and sunny—horrible weather if one was a snow leopard with thick fur. The tailor's shop was a small establishment built into the side of a small house, with stools outside under an awning for customers to sit and wait for service and a room for fittings and the like.

As we approached, the proprietor and owner stepped out from her home.

The tigress before me was a minority, I surmised as much from her style of dress. Dai nationality, judging from the quietly elegant clothing, close-fitting shirt and long straight skirt, both meant for warm weather. Her dress reminded me of woodblocks I had seen of a country called _Siam_, their women's clothing strongly reminded me of this female's garb. And a South China tiger…how rare, how remarkable, just as rare as snow leopards, or perhaps rarer still. She cast one look at Tai Lung, in fact, and smiled, as if she saw a kindred spirit in one as rare as she.

"You are here for fitting, yes?" she asked, her Chinese heavily accented. I had difficulty understanding her, but realized it wasn't a separate language, but the Dai dialect.

"Yes, he is," I said. "He needs new clothes."

"Of course, yes. One moment, please, if you will step in back," she pointed to a booth. "I will be right with y—OH!" she yelped, jumping out of the way as an orange and black blur zipped across the floor. Tai Lung's quick reflexes kicked into gear and he caught the blur, immediately halting it, but not without pushing him back about two feet from the force of the impact.

In his hands was a small tiger cub, a little girl, perhaps three years old, with wide, innocent eyes of a remarkable color: a fierce red-orange; quite a lot of fire in that one. Tai Lung shared a look with me, just as stunned from the force of this little juggernaut as I was.

"Jia!" the elder tigress scolded. She took the cub from Tai Lung's hands. "A thousand pardons, sir. My daughter, she is a headstrong one."

"That's fine—I like kids with a lot of energy," he chuckled.

The cub held out her arms to Tai Lung, giggling, "Kitty!"

"No, you naughty girl!" her mother said, sitting her daughter down on the stool next to mine. She shook her finger at her, "You will sit, do not move! He is honored customer, and must be treated with respect."

The cub whined and pouted in the chair, but the matter was decided. The Dai tigress beckoned to my son as she picked up a tape measure and a piece of paper for recording measurements. "On top of stool, please sir. Jia," she turned to her daughter, wagging her finger again in reprimand, "You are going to sit, be good, respect your Elder," she said, motioning to me.

The cub just sighed theatrically and continued to pout. I sat on the stool next to the girl, just outside the door, watching the people pass me by and taking in the energy on the street.

I felt someone's eyes on me. I looked to my right; the tiger girl was watching me, head tilted slightly, as if confused by something about my appearance. I tried not to let it bother me, not bothering to consider that such a "headstrong child" might have ulterior motives…

"OW!" I yelped, snatching away my tail after she had pounced on it. The cub, however, was giggling, reaching her little arms out and wrapping them around me and purring. For a toddler, the hug was almost bone-cracking as she exclaimed loudly, "Kitty!"

Xue Shan's comment from years before resounded in my ears: _It's because he looks like a stuffed animal, I bet that's a big hit with the kids. _"I am NOT a kitty!" I gasped for air; for a toddler, she had incredible strength. "Now let go!"

"Kitty fwuffy!" she cooed, petting my head.

I did _not_ need this.

"Let go of me _right _now, young lady!"

"Wanna play!" she giggled, releasing me and clapping her hands.

Oh no, I _really_ did not need this.

But then I heard the two women across from me gossiping. The first said something about "that Dai woman, so strange, clearly not Han Chinese at all!" "A shame what happened to her husband though. Killed during a monsoon, how horrible!" "I know, a widow, at her age, with a young daughter at that. If she remarried, no doubt the girl would be the first thing to go…" "I highly doubt she would allow herself to remarry, not now. She is still mourning, and has one of the most prosperous businesses in the valley—she knows her stuff. I took that old pink dress of mine to her—you know, the one with the wine stain? She lifted it right out, when I had always failed!" "Still, she _is_ rather unusual…" "But my dear, she is a refugee. She likely had nowhere else to go. We came to this valley as refugees too, you remember. Who are we to judge?"

I looked back at the female cub. She was just a tot, and had lost her father to a monsoon, her young mother widowed and poor, despite her thriving business, and just barely scraping by…who knew what horrors these two females had encountered?

"Alright, you want to play, okay, let's play," I said quickly. "How about…"

"Ooh! Buh-fly!"

"A what?"

She pointed with a gleeful shout, getting up and chasing after a black and blue butterfly that had flittered past. I pinched the bridge of my nose with consternation. I must have forgotten that most toddlers had such a short attention span. But I watched her, or watched _over_ her rather, as she chased after the butterfly, stalking it in the very feline way Tai Lung had stalked "prey" when he was a baby. Unlike him, this little cub didn't seem too preoccupied with catching the thing—she thought it was playing a game of tag with her, and she just happened to be "It". She pounced once more, and the butterfly gave flight. The girl cub just giggled and looked over at me.

"Come play! Come play, Kitty!"

"Oh for the love of…" I groaned, "No, little miss. I am a red panda, _red panda_," I emphasized. She sat looking at me, utterly perplexed, her head tilted to the side in confusion. "Say it with me, _red panda_…"

"Red panda kitty!" she exclaimed, sounding very pleased with herself.

"Wrong," I groaned.

"Red kitty," she tried again.

"No."

"Kitty panda?" now the poor thing was hopelessly confused. And so was I. I just decided to give up: "Fine. I'm a kitty panda."

"'Kay," she said with a dismissive shrug and resumed stalking and pouncing on my tail. Looking back on it, I'm amazed that I couldn't appreciate how utterly adorable she was. Despite whatever horrors she must have experienced, she still held onto that blissful childhood.

When her poor mother emerged from the store a minute later, she scolded the cub for lack of manners and took her into her arms. "Come along, Jia, its time for your nap. Sir," she turned to me (and it was quite hard to understand given her dialect), "Thank you again for your kindness…and your patience."

"Mmph," was my curt, and rather rude, answer. The mother didn't mind so much, probably used to such treatment. Tai Lung looked like he was having difficulty holding in a laugh. As we left, the Dai woman's daughter waved and called back to me, waving theatrically, "Buh-bye, kitty panda!"

Tai Lung had given me a look. "Kitty panda?"

"Don't ask."

"How old is she?"

"Hmm? Probably three, at the most. Why?"

I could tell from the look on his face that he felt something was…off, about the little girl. "No reason," he said, almost dismissively. I know now, though, that he believed as I did at the time: for a child so young, she was impressively strong.

When I looked back again, the look on that child's face as she watched us leave from the doorway of her mother's business, the brightness in her orange-red eyes and the innocence of her character finally wore me down.

I smiled and waved back.

And two weeks later, her mother was dead.

* * *

Such was a memory I had no idea I would come to cherish in my old age. It was the carefree nature of that day, the calm before the storm, which I've since loved above even memories of Tai Lung's cubhood. Because, if you haven't figured it out by now, Little Jia—"Butterfly"—was my future student…and the best one I ever trained.

* * *

It came upon me three years after the rampage that Oogway approached me one morning. Zeng, the new teenage Palace messenger, had delivered a letter from the Bao Gu orphanage that morning.

Annoyed I was being interrupted in my meditations; I relented because, after all, he was my master. "With all due respect, Mrs. Gao knows that I refuse to take in any more orphans." Heaven knew what happened the _last_ time I did.

"Oh, she is not asking you to adopt, old friend," he assured. "It seems she has a problem with 'a monster'."

I remember rolling my eyes, "I'm sure—anything bigger than a sheep that has sharp teeth and claws is likely to be 'a monster' to that miserable woman…"

"I think you should go."

"I think that would be a bad idea…"

Typically, he only nodded and responded as if I had agreed from the beginning, "Wonderful, I will see you when you return. Dinner is at seven, you recall. We'll be having your favorites."

I sighed and blew out the bank of meditation candles.

* * *

I didn't realize until I walked up to the gate that I had never been to Bao Gu before. I knew where it was, and how to get there, of course, but had never visited. I had no need to. Tai Lung was my child, but now that he was gone, my life was empty once again. Of course, Yeying was also at the back of my mind. I quickly reminded myself that we had chosen to adopt just before her death…and afterwards, the thought of raising a child without her hurt too much to put into words. I had vowed never to adopt from Bao Gu without her by my side.

And here I was, on a visit to that accursed place, breaking my vow.

An ewe opened the doors to the orphanage, and admitted me inside quickly. The courtyard, which was littered with toys and various playthings, was empty—apparently it was time for the children's daily schooling. So she took this opportunity to tell me why I was beckoned. I walked with her, tripping over toys, then grabbed up a few domino tiles in an attempt to clear a path. Seeing no box with which to put them in, I stored them in my sleeves, resolving to find a place for them on my way out.

The poor ewe—Mrs. Gao, she was called—was stuttering so much I had to offer her a drink of water, in her own domicile, to calm down. She still shook, which I knew had nothing to do with the slight chill on the early-Spring breeze.

"I understand you have a need of my, ah, services?" I asked her. I had no idea what I was getting myself into; Master Oogway had not exactly been specific. All he had said was that "it would be good for you to get some fresh air, Shifu. A change of scenery, a walk, ten-mile hike, perhaps to Bao Gu and back. Oh, while you're out there, if you wouldn't mind checking in with dear Mrs. Gao? It has been a long time since we have heard from her; news would be lovely."

One could always accuse him of being vague, but he was that person whose ambiguity was forgivable…sometimes.

She only nodded, looking about fearfully. "N-not here, inside, please…this way, Master."

I sighed; I was used to people being slightly intimidated by me, but this sheep had to be the worst by far. None of the villagers ever quaked in my presence. Not even Zeng, grandson of my good old friend Zhou, ever feared me that much…at least I don't think he did. The ewe led me inside the orphanage, through the courtyard where ducklings, bunnies and piglets played and laughed together. The majority of them, however, were huddled together in various corners, looking around fearfully.

"Madam," I asked. "May I inquire as to the reason for this…?"

"Yes, yes of course," she muttered distractedly. She reached inside her coat and pulled out a set of iron keys on a long string; unlocking a door, she led me inside and down the hall.

At the very end of the hall, I stopped, gazing in amazement at an expertly crafted door. Now, it would be more fitting to say this door had carved relief scenes of children playing or of benevolent gods watching over happy families, or even a mural of various mythical beasts and fairy tales…but that was not the case.

This massive door was reinforced with iron and steel, and a lock that looked as heavy and as thick as a rhino's fist…and had clearly been recently replaced. This door looked like it belonged in a prison, not an orphanage, especially not an orphanage like Bao Gu.

"What am I looking at?" I asked quietly, sensing that the stillness in the air was there for a reason. I couldn't help but feel a chill.

"This is…_her_ room."

I glanced at the ewe. "_Her_ room?"

"Yes!" she said fretfully. "She escaped just a few days ago, fortunately _after_ the monthly adoptions…"

I cut her off. "Madam," I said sternly. "Do you mean to tell me you keep a child _prisoner_ in there?"

"What choice do I have?!" she cried. "No one will come adopt any children, because they are all afraid of _her_! She is a monster…a _monster!_"

I had heard enough. I silenced her with a look before she could fall into hysterics. "We'll see about that."

"W-what will you do?"

I pressed my hand against the cold iron lock, frozen. A feeling of déjà vu fell over me as I remembered, nearly trembling, that I had seen my hand against the locks that kept my son completely immobilized, miles below earth inside a hollow mountain. I had placed him in prison, and now Heaven saw to further mock my loss by forcing me to bring someone _out_ of a prison…just not him.

I sighed and said, "I will do what must be done."

She wordlessly handed me the key which I shoved into the lock. The ewe leaned over to whisper in my ear, "Her name is…" she paused, as if invoking the name of the little girl was blasphemy. "…Tigress."

Well, I wonder what species this child was…

I turned the lock and pushed open the door.

My eyes took some time to adjust to the dim light, but as they did, little details about the confined space told me what I should expect.

There were deep claw marks in the plaster, which crumbled to piles of dust on the floor. Broken floorboards looked like they had been smashed to pieces by a dozen gorilla bandits; I surmised as much by a broken toy chest across from a rickety bed. The mattress had cuts in the canvas, and bits of straw were poking out here and there between rumbled sheets, also bearing scars from sharp claws. The bedposts were by far in the worst shape, looking like someone had used them as scratching posts.

And finally, huddled in the far corner was a small cub, perhaps no older than six, hugging her knees to her chest, her striped tail wrapped around her in an obvious show of self-pity.

She was as typical a tiger cub as any, I suppose, clearly a peasant's daughter if the rough, homespun clothes were any indication. When her eyes adjusted to the light, I was struck by how…strange they were. I had never seen eyes like hers. Her irises were a fiery red-orange set on a sea of golden yellow, so very cat-like, with a sharp shrewdness that told me this kid knew a _lot_ more than she let on.

But I was struck with a terrible feeling; I knew this tiger.

"Tigress," I said, feeling the name on my tongue. "I am Shifu, and I am…"

"Afraid?" she snarled, turning her head to hiss at me; her eyes were showing just a flicker of the raging furnace behind them.

Little Jia.

Merciful gods…it _was_ her! But how? After her mother died, Oogway had said he had taken care of the girl…I thought he had taken her to someone's house to adopt, to raise as their own…had he brought her _here_? Had the happy cub I had played with three years ago been reduced to a pathetic orphan living in squalor, purely because her own caretakers were _afraid_ of her?

Needing a way to release my anger at my master, I boldly slammed the door behind me, locking us both in. "No."

"Well you should be!" she snapped, the fur on the back of her neck rising. "I am Tigress! Tigress the Monster!" and there it was, the moisture suddenly flooding in, extinguishing the fire in her eyes. She turned her head away from me, probably to hide the hurtful tears. "…The monster no one wants."

How could my heart _not_ go out to her? I wanted to yell, to scream, "You are wanted! You _are!_" Instead, I replied, "You are not a monster. You are just a little girl."

She wiped away a stray tear with the back of her hand, looking at me in wonder. I can only imagine what she was thinking: _who is this creature and why is he not afraid? He's as small as I am, no claws, no sharp teeth…why doesn't he cower like everyone else does?_

Well, at least I had her attention. Now, I needed to find a way to get through to her. Once again, memories of Yeying resurfaced. It was as if her spirit was telling me how to proceed, and I wondered why I had not heard that voice guiding me when I was raising Tai Lung. This voice spoke like a gentle breeze through blossoming spring branches: _tread carefully with this one_.

Of course; raising girls _had_ to be much different, and more difficult, than raising boys. Girls' feelings were hurt much more easily. If I said or did the wrong thing, I would lose Tigress, and in effect, she would lose any chance of being adopted by a deserving family, and the other orphans would also lose their chances at happiness if I failed.

But no pressure.

I inwardly sighed, burrowing my hands inside my sleeves, fingering the hidden pockets. That's when I felt them. The domino tiles. I cursed myself for forgetting they were in there; but then I got an idea.

I pulled them out, casting them in a neat row on the floor. I held up one of them for her to see, I asked, "Let us play?"

She stared at the dual-sided tile like it was a mystical object. Dear lord, had she never played with anyone else before now? She looked up at me for a mere moment, silently searching my face for permission to take the thing from my offered hand. Slowly, she reached her hand out, wrapping her fingers around the wooden tile…

SNAP!

I jumped at the sharp sound, my reflexes kicking in to grab the shattered tile as it flew over my head. It was a clever ruse to hide my alarm as I stared at the tile's remains in my hand. "Mmph, you must learn to control your strength."

"How?"

"What?" I glanced at her.

"_How_ do I control it? You think I haven't _tried_?!" she roared, sinking her claws into the floorboards. I guess that explained the broken floor…

I tapped her nose with my finger, shocking her out of her rage; it had worked for Tai Lung, so I thought it would work for her too. Sure enough, she blinked, wrinkled her nose then looked back up at me quizzically.

"You also need to learn to control your temper," I told her.

She appeared deep in thought. I suppose if one spends most of their time alone, there's very little else to do but think. When she looked back up at me, she asked, "So…if I control my temper…can I play?"

"I don't know, _can_ you play?"

"_May_ I play?" she corrected herself, without the eye-rolling or long-suffering barely concealed disdain Tai Lung was known for. Well, at least she had _some_ manners.

"If you complete your training, and do it well, then you may play."

"Training?" her face fell. All she wanted was to play with other children her age, and instead, it sounded like I was going to make her do chores.

Well, technically, I was.

"You'll see," I said. "Training can be just as fun."

I have a feeling that if my seven-year-old self could have heard my fifty-something self say that, I'd never hear the end of it. And Tigress—such a smart girl—saw right through my ruse; that childish scowl said enough. She wasn't buying my bull.

"Do you agree?" I asked.

She stared at me again. It was starting to become uncomfortable. When she spoke, there was no trace of "the monster"…she was just a little girl, eager to please, and eager to be loved. "If I say yes…you train me, and I won't by scary anymore?"

"If I train you, I can make you better than you are now…and you _will _be better. It's your choice to stay here, in this prison you've made yourself, or allow me to train you so you can be a normal little girl, just like everyone else."

She barely let me finish. "That's what I want!" she cried. "I want to be like everybody else!"

Easier said than done. I parted ways with her after promising to return the next day. She didn't appear to believe me; how many times had she been lied to by an adult, that she no longer trusted them? On my way out, I instructed Mrs. Gao to give Tigress a double-ration in her supper. She would need all the energy she could.

* * *

On my way home to the Jade Palace that night, I was deep in thought, turning the broken domino tile over and over in my fingers. The broken wood scratched against my palm, the splinters sharp and rough. I paused in the path, holding up the broken half, finally letting it sink in.

I almost dropped the piece in my shock.

I had trained Tai Lung since he was five years old. He would never have been able to do this, not at that age. Not even Ochir had ever had this complete, unrestrained strength. I could see why the ewe and other orphanage workers were so terrified of the girl: this kind of strength for _anyone_ was remarkable, even impossible, especially at her age.

That someone so small and so young could possess such strength…

That was when I remembered. When Tai Lung was about fourteen or so, he had a sudden burst of strength, like some experience a growth spurt, his was a strength spurt (that came _with_ a growth spurt, of course). For a solid month, as I mentioned previously, I was spending more time filling out work orders than training him, he had broken so many things. With meditation—and a two week retreat on Wudan mountain alone with Master Oogway—we had helped him gain control.

That was exactly what Tigress needed.

Unfortunately, I was held back by certain limitations. For one, I couldn't take her to the mountain. Her status as an orphan—a _female_ orphan—put her at a greater risk for abduction by slavers, and I wasn't going to risk that. Secondly, she was not interested in kung fu. She just wanted to be a normal child. But she _wasn't_ normal. This kind of strength wasn't normal. The conundrum was figuring a way to _make_ her normal, or appear so.

* * *

"So, how did it go?" Master Oogway asked upon my return. I popped the domino piece in his hand, and instead of looking shocked, he only smiled and chuckled. "Ah, how charming!"

"Yes, that's the word," I muttered.

"So you will help her," he stated. So he _had_ sent me out with every intention of seeing Tigress.

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" I asked.

"We always have a choice, Shifu," he said, placing the broken tile back in my hand. "This girl has made hers, and you need to make yours."

"Once I train her, it is done. Once she is 'normal', I am done."

"Are you?"

It was only two words, but it was the way he said it, I think that made me stall in my step. The rhetorical question still lingered in my ears, ringing like a thousand gongs.

Was I done?

* * *

As promised, I returned to Bao Gu early the next morning. Tigress was still abed, after I had been up for hours. Waking at the crack of dawn was normal for me. There was no one to discipline her, and who would? Who, in their right mind, would discipline a creature that could rip them limb from limb? Who was really that stupid?

Allow me, if you will, to damn myself as I raise my hand.

I normally prefer subtlety, but in this case, there was only one way to get through to her: tough love.

I "gently" roused her from sleep by slamming open her door and yanking the covers off her sleeping form. "You are _late_! Up, up! Make your bed, quickly!"

She looked at me as if I had lost my mind. After having lost my wife, then my son, and all of my friends…perhaps my sanity _was_ the last thing to go. When I didn't back down at first, she started to glare. I didn't budge...and remarkably, I won our glaring contest. With her tail between her legs, she got up, sloppily made her bed, then splashed water on her face. I handed her a towel, "Make your bed."

"I did!"

"That? That is atrocious. No student of mine lives in such squalor. While we're at it, you will also clean up this room, pick up the toys, the dirty clothes, all of it."

Mrs. Gao and her attendants were just outside, and gasped in horror as I gave my orders. Tigress was just as shocked. No adult had _ever_ spoken to her like that. They had all been too afraid of her. I wasn't. I had seen real monsters, and fought them. I had seen such horrors that even the most fevered nightmares couldn't compare. No, I was not scared of this girl. But so help me, if I needed to, I would make her scared of _me_.

Eyes wide, she blinked in confusion.

"While I'm young, Tigress; oops, too late," I said smartly.

She started to giggle, then stopped abruptly when I glared. After another moment of silence, she asked me, "How am I supposed to make my bed?"

I wanted to rant and rage at her caretakers, for lack of better word; as far as I was concerned, they failed miserably at their jobs. I sighed, "Start at the foot, tuck the covers under the mattress. Smooth the covers over the top, perfectly straight. I want that bed so tightly made I can bounce a coin off of it. Tuck in the corners, nice and sharp…"

She followed my instruction, easily lifting the mattress to tuck the covers under it. In a few minutes, the bed was made, but not impeccable. But it was a far cry from what it was. I cast another look around the small room as she picked up the worn clothes and put them away in a clothes hamper, then start to retrieve her broken toys. The claw marks on the walls, the creaky floorboards, and what appeared to be mold and cobwebs on the walls…

"When was the last time this room was cleaned?"

She didn't answer, looking sheepish. I was having altogether different thoughts about a different sheep…

"What about washed sheets? Scrubbed floors? Windows, dusting, general maintenance?"

Her ears flattened against her head. I sighed, "Stay here." I stepped outside, glaring right at the ewe, duck and pig. "Once I take her out of there, you _will_ go in and clean, you _will_ make all necessary repairs, and you _will_ treat that girl's room the same way you treat the other rooms in this establishment. If that room is not _spotless_ by the time I return with her at sunset, I will _personally_ have this entire place closed down for manifest child neglect. Do I make myself clear?"

All three were visibly shaking. If they had not been scared of me before, they were now. I walked back into Tigress' room and beckoned her to follow me. She dropped what she was doing and followed me out. The ewe shakily held out a spare key to an empty room for our use. I took it and we continued on our way.

Tigress was quiet that whole day, unsure how to answer to me. I decided it was best to just have her call me "Shifu" instead of "Master". I told myself that I wasn't her master, and she wasn't my student. Besides that, using "master" might intimidate her…though I doubted it.

When we were alone, I held up the box of domino tiles I had brought with me. Holding up one tile, I stared her down. "This game requires precision, a steady hand, and steady heart…"

She tried mimicking my movements as I taught some tai chi. In doing so, she punched right through the wall, scaring the attendants on the other side.

I had to hold in my impatience. "_Focus_," I sternly ordered.

Disappointment flooded her features as she stammered a quick apology.

"Now, are you listening?"

She nodded, eyes glued on the tile in my hand. She was as eager a student as any I had ever met. I sighed and put the tiles aside. "Let's begin."

* * *

In case you were wondering, by the end of the day, when I escorted her back to her room, the caretakers had done everything I had ordered. The floor was repaired, the walls newly spackled, ready for painting the next day. Tigress's window was wide open to let in a cool breeze, and a new trunk for her clothes and few toys was sitting at the foot of her bed, which had a new mattress, and fresh clean sheets and blankets. A new candle burned on a table set next to the bed.

Tigress looked as amazed as I felt, gingerly preparing for bed as if she felt she didn't deserve such kindness. I vowed that, with Heaven as my witness, she would never feel unloved again.

* * *

Though I had at first refused to be intimidated by her, Tigress soon started to scare me. Her unrestrained strength, coupled with her raging temper as fierce as a wildfire, did nothing to assuage my worry that she may never learn. Over the coming weeks, no matter how hard I tried to teach her grace and precision, she wouldn't listen.

"Tigress will not overcome the obstacles set before her if she does not have someone to guide her," Oogway told me one night after a particularly grueling day. I had initially offered the Jade Palace pay for repairs that would undoubtedly be required during Tigress' training, but she had since made me regret that offer. Like Tai Lung, I was spending most of my nights filling out work order forms and signing the checks.

It had been eight weeks, and there was absolutely no progress. I was beginning to give up. I had used every trick, every tool, every tactic that I had ever used to teach, and all of it failed. Either Tigress was more hard-headed than Tai Lung (a tall order, I might add), or losing my greatest student had robbed me of my ability to teach.

One day as I brooded over my options, watching Tigress try and perfect the graceful katas I had taught her, I studied my student. Something wasn't right; I had to be doing something wrong. Had I not gotten through to her, had I not taught her anything…?

She stopped what she was doing, so abruptly that it shocked me out of my meditations. I was about to demand an answer until I saw why she'd stopped.

Sitting on a blade of yellowed grass was a black and blue butterfly, its iridescent colors glinting in the late afternoon sun like a piece of lapis laced with polished jet. Tigress stood there, watching…and then I saw the most remarkable thing.

Slowly, tenderly, gracefully, like a dancer, she twisted her wrist, palm up, and slowly lowered her hand, her body tilted downward into a poised arabesque, inching closer, closer, to the beautiful insect. I had very little time to make an expectation, for as soon as her hand was level with the insect…it hopped right onto her palm!

Tigress smiled, slowly raising her hand and straightening her body to have a closer look. Her curiosity was matched only by the winged bug in her hand, which miraculously stayed put, idly flapping its wings from time to time. It crawled around her hand and up her wrist to her elbow, past her elbow to her shoulder, Tigress giggling as the tiny feet tickled her skin. When the insect reached her shoulder, she brought up her other hand, allowed the thing to rest on her outstretched finger. Once she had accomplished this, she lifted her hand high above her head, and the butterfly took off, fluttering away on the wind, its iridescent blue glinting in the setting sun.

Mother's love, she had done it.

But just to be sure…

"Hah!" I flung five domino pieces into the air. As if instinct, Tigress saw all five and pounced, somersaulting in mid-air and landing with just a small puff of dust kicked up at her feet.

I waited, holding my breath.

She opened her hand.

There were only two broken tiles; the other three were intact. In one instance, she had come much farther than ever before…and she knew it.

"WOOHOO!" she jumped up in celebration.

"Ahem."

"Oh," she stopped, bowing in respect, "Sorry, Shifu."

"You are forgiven. Next time," I picked up one of the dropped domino tiles. "Crouch lower on the ground, when you spring up, you'll get more height."

She nodded in understanding and crouched low like a cat ready to pounce…which she was. I repeated the throw; she caught all five tiles, again, three intact, two broken. Again, and again, ten times to be sure…

Each time, the same result. But I was proud of her accomplishment. Any accomplishment, especially this one, was proof that she _had_ been following my instruction.

But I was also perplexed. How had she done it? Did she…no, that couldn't be possible. She had been three, too young to remember…there was no way she could remember me.

It was near dinner time for her, so I led her back to the orphanage, silent the whole way. As I left her at the door, I told her, "You have done well, Tigress."

She stopped and stared at me. After a moment, a grin bloomed on her face, and she turned to bow to me, saying "Thank you, Master."

I was torn. I was so torn. How could she say that; did she have any idea how that affected me? In that instant, the smile on her face, the gratitude in her eyes…I didn't want to leave. My conscience beat that thought down, and I reminded myself of my promise. I was to train her, help her control her strength, and now that I had achieved that…I was done.

* * *

Three months later, by the middle of that summer, Tigress was ready for her final test. Just before, I kept drilling her, making sure she worked on her grace, balance and posture. At this point, I had ceased worrying about her controlling her strength; now I was grooming her to be adopted. I figured no prospective parent would adopt a child with little manners or education. She was such a bright girl, picked up everything I taught her.

One night, after I returned her to the orphanage, Mrs. Gao pulled me aside. "I wanted to thank you. I have never seen her as happy as when she is around you."

"I am merely giving her something to do. Once she is adopted, she will be happier still," I reasoned.

"You don't understand—you don't know the girl like I do," the ewe sighed. "I knew her mother too, poor thing…her mother was Dai, originally from Yunnan—she married a man from Siam. But he was killed in a monsoon, five years ago."

I had known who Tigress was ever since that first day. I knew she was that tiny little hellion who pounced on my tail and giggled as she chased a butterfly. "What happened to her mother?" I asked.

"She opened a laundry and tailor shop, but that was destroyed three years ago during…" she trailed off, then started again, "When they brought Tigress here…well, no one knew the girl's name, so we just all called her Tigress. I didn't even know her mother's name, now that I think about it. Her mother," she sighed, probably knowing how I would feel about what she said next. "Her mother was killed in the rampage."

If nothing else she said made me feel bad, that last revelation made me feel like the scum of the earth. I was certain Tai Lung would never have cared that he orphaned a three-year-old girl, so I naturally channeled all that guilt onto my own shoulders. I had unleashed him onto the valley…so in a roundabout way, I felt Tigress' predicament was my fault.

Mrs. Gao wasn't finished, "They said they found the girl in the ruins of the house, her mother lying on the floor, and Tigress shaking her, telling her to wake up…poor little dear." She shook her head. "Poor, poor thing…"

"If you pity her, then why was her room in such disarray?" I accused.

"You didn't know her before you came along," she retorted. "No one could control her. She seemed to know no one wanted her, and that made her angry…very angry. It has nothing to do with her species or her strength—they don't want her because she is a girl."

The wind very suddenly rushed violently through the leaves above us, kicking up dust devils and blinding us. Mrs. Gao shouted in surprise; I smelled peony blossoms on the wind. I stared up at the leaves in the giant tree towering above my head. Could it be…?

"No one wants to adopt a girl child," I finally said, "because girls are raised for other families, and have little economic effect on the family. Girls are worthless in our society."

"No, not worthless," Mrs. Gao said, brushing herself off. "The late Master Yeying—Heaven bless her soul—proved that women were worth just as much as men. Tigress is one such a girl who will prove everyone wrong, I'm sure of it."

_Well-behaved women rarely make history_.

I could hear the words resonating as if Yeying had whispered them in my ear.

I looked back over my shoulder towards the hallway leading to Tigress' room. Again I smelled peony blossoms in the air.

I made my decision.

* * *

The day of her final test came and went, and I don't think I could have hidden that proud smile if I tried…not that I wanted to. In four months, Tigress had accomplished many things. She had successfully turned seven, channeled her strength into something positive and constructive, and began to control her temper. As news of her training spread amongst the other children, I saw in their faces that they believed her to no longer be scary or frightening at all.

I watched as she carefully set the domino tiles on the ground, with the grace of a dancer and the gentleness of the butterfly she was named for. Placing the tiles in a large spiral, backing up carefully and laying tile after tile, I reflected on her training.

There was more than just pity. She was—and still is—a wonderful student. She had such a brilliant, sharp mind, inquisitive and curious, and never stopped asking questions. At first, this annoyed me, but now I realize that was how she learned, always by questioning. I had foolishly thought those who asked many questions were just not getting it; Tai Lung hardly ever asked questions, and learned everything himself…but I could hardly use him as a comparison anymore.

Moreover, Tigress had so much fire in her personality, it reminded me of Xue Shan in a way, but the more I saw of her the less I thought _her_ fire was an inferno, and more like a candle that had been carelessly knocked over. Fire has a dual purpose: it can keep one warm in winter, and provide light in the darkness; but it can also burn down a house, and burn a hand that gets too close. And yet…after a fire, a forest still grew back. As I felt my life had been ravaged so easily by the fires that burned half the valley to the ground, Tigress was that lone flower, that single sign of life peeking through the ashes that gave me hope for a better future.

She set down the last tile and looked up at me. I fought back the sigh, I didn't think she still needed my approval to do anything, but I suppose I was wrong. I smiled thinly and nodded. With that, she pressed her finger against one domino and the rest fell in sequence. In the summer sunlight, the painted tiles glittered like gold, the two tones making a perfect yin and yang symbol on the orphanage floor.

She had done it. The other orphans rounded up around her as the other adults applauded her. Some came by to pay their respects to me, and Mrs. Gao thanked me once again. I barely heard her. I was watching Tigress and marveling at the transformation I saw.

She was smiling, and for the first time, I saw the carefree toddler I remembered, laughing and giggling, rough-housing (gently) with the other children. A group of girls invited her to play hopscotch and jump ropes with them; a group of boys wanted her to play a ball game. She looked back at me once more, as if asking what to do. She had achieved what she wanted the most…and now she had choices she didn't know what to do with.

I turned away, leaving her to her own devices, and made my way home.

* * *

That night, I couldn't sleep. I dreamed. I was back in the hilly fields outside Bao Gu, watching Tigress…and to my amazement, I was watching her grow. She was first the little toddler, then the child, then pre-adolescent, adolescent, and finally an adult, who was performing incredible feats of kung fu; the adult suddenly stopped and looked back at me with an expectant look. I felt someone beside me, and I expected Oogway. Instead, it was Yeying, who looked just as amazed to see me as I was to see her.

I awoke with a start, sucking down air and willing myself to calm down. I was haunted by what I had seen. At the time I believed it to be just a strange dream brought on by too much oolong tea before bed. Now I know better. It was a vision.

Meditation didn't help me relax, or help figure out the nature of my vision. I finally gave up and sought out my master. I had decided he probably never actually slept anymore, or if he did, I never saw it. I found him in the Sacred Hall of Warriors, leaning on his staff and gazing into the Moon Pool. As I approached, I caught the reflection of the golden dragon overhead, the Dragon Scroll in its teeth; Oogway smiled at my approach.

"I was wondering when you would show up."

"I couldn't sleep."

"What a coincidence, neither could I."

"Do you _ever_ sleep?" I was serious, but he chuckled.

"I have been having visions rather than dreams. Something compels me to ask if you are truly done teaching."

I stared at my reflection in the Moon Pool. I saw the wrinkles that were slowly becoming etched deeply into my face, the crow's feet forming at the corners of my eyes, the dark circles, the frown lines by my mouth. Former grey hairs now turning as white as the rest of my face, worry lines on my brow…when had those appeared? For the first time I truly acknowledged that I was getting old…and it hurt. Most men were lucky to live until they were fifty. I was fifty-six, so I had already exceeded the life expectancy of most Chinese men at the time. The quality of life has since improved, and now many were living ten, fifteen, even twenty years longer if they were careful.

After Tai Lung's rampage and imprisonment, I felt the weight of years upon me, but for some inexplicable reason, training Tigress had…made me feel younger. Much younger. Like I had another ten years to live, maybe more. Was it her youthful energy, and I had just absorbed some of her _chi_ by association? Or had the training simply reawakened my love for teaching? Maybe that was it, I reasoned. That I had forgotten why I got into teaching…for that grateful smile and the success of a student.

Oogway was smiling at me again. "What is on your mind?"

I told him about my dream. His smile widened. "What do you think Yeying is telling you?"

I went back to bed and woke before dawn to begin my journey back to Bao Gu.

* * *

Unfortunately, my journey was anything but enjoyable. I kept running into troubles along the way, and as a result was running late. Very late. It was mid-afternoon when I finally caught sight of the orphanage in the distance, but my heart fell when I saw the crowd of parents and newly adopted children. I was too late!

But as they passed, bowing to me in respect, I noticed that Tigress was missing from the crowd. She had not yet been adopted…I hoped. I asked one of the new fathers about her, and the pig just gave me a fearful look.

"Are you kidding? I wouldn't adopt her for an Emperor's ransom!"

"Why not?"

"_Why not_? Why do you think? How could I control someone who could easily kill me?"

This was both heartening and disheartening. While the children loved her, all the adults were still afraid of her. All but one.

I ran the rest of the way to the orphanage, panting heavily as I pounded on the door. There was a pause, long enough for me to catch my breath, and then the door opened. Mrs. Gao stood there, surprised to see me.

"Am I too late?" I asked, with as much dignity as I could muster. I also begged the silent question: was she still here?

Mrs. Gao smiled knowingly. "Not at all. Come inside, we'll finalize everything in my office."

* * *

A few minutes later, everything was done. I excited Mrs. Gao's office, the signed paperwork stashed in a pocket. All that was left was to find her…

She was in the courtyard, sitting at a picnic table under the tall tree. Her head was resting on her crossed arms, and from what I could tell, she was very disappointed to have been rejected by potential parents. She sighed, turning a domino tile over in her fingers, then placed it on the table, staring blankly at it. It broke my heart to see her so depressed. I picked up a discarded domino tile on the ground and without a word, walked over and placed my tile next to hers.

The effect was immediate. The sullen, somber expression brightened and lifted, her eyes wide and sparkling like precious rubies. I had never seen her so happy to see me. "Shifu!"

I folded my hands inside my sleeves, wondering how best to say it. Judging from her expression, I think she expected me to offer more training, if she desired it. Mrs. Gao had said how much Tigress looked forward to training with me, and that she cherished it. Well, I was going to give her what she wanted.

I turned, "Come, let us go home."

It took a minute for it to sink in; first there was confusion, realization…then elation. That smile lit up the entire courtyard, and the memory of it, of that smile, the expression on her face and the light in her eyes, is something that I will always treasure.

* * *

Of course, hardly anyone ever knew her as Jia. Only Oogway and myself knew; Oogway became very fond of calling her Mei Jia—"beautiful butterfly"—as a nickname. I continued to call her Tigress.

The first thing we did when she made the Jade Palace her home was give her a room with lots of windows. The one she had occupied at the orphanage was far too dark. Next, she received new clothes; the ones she had were threadbare, and not worthy of one of _my_ students. Third, I doubled her rations; she was always far too thin for my comfort (I should have seen it coming though; as an adult, she has the metabolism of a hummingbird—keeping weight on her is a team effort).

Lastly, of course, I began her training in kung fu. Training her to control her strength, I would have been a fool to ignore that natural talent. She was always sharp, always attentive, always asking questions, and was capable of things that Tai Lung never was. Recall the fifty flawless run-throughs of my obstacle course? Two days for Tigress; two months for Tai Lung. She picked up things faster than he did…further convincing me that women were just as intelligent as men—if not more so.

Oogway taught her reading and writing, and most importantly, critical thinking. She was good at it. She was—and still is—an excellent debater. I'm certain that if kung fu never worked out, she'd have made an impressive lawyer.

However, her training was drastically different than Tai Lung's. I made sure of that.

* * *

The minute she arrived in the Jade Palace, I encountered something that could only be called a good omen. As soon as she stepped over the threshold, I heard a chorus of nightingales warbling. It didn't sound mournful, it sounded…joyful. Somewhere, wherever she was, Yeying was celebrating her daughter. And so was I…and that worried me.

I could not make the same mistakes I made with Tai Lung. I was _not_ going to spoil her, coddle her, or make her believe she was set out for something she was not worthy of. I would keep her pride—and mine—in check. I would make her work for everything she did, I would make her self-sufficient, disciplined, humble, everything Tai Lung was not.

Looking back, I realize that while I didn't repeat my mistake with Tai Lung, I made another mistake I can never forgive myself for. It wasn't until Tai Lung escaped from prison and tried to kill me that I realized what I had withheld from Tigress for so long.

I never told her I loved her. I never said I loved her, or was proud of her, and I'm going to have to live with that forever. If I knew how to tell her, how to put the words together in such a way that she could forgive me, I would have told her already.

Instead, as I watched her grow, I became aware of how detached she became. By the time she was a teenager, she had all but completely detached herself emotionally from me. I thought it was teenage rebellion. But Oogway knew what the problem was; if not for him, I don't know how Tigress or I could have survived those turbulent years.

Oogway had made plans for repairing Tigress' spurned soul. He did for her what he did for me: he invited new students to join her, as her friends.

The first one arrived in the form of a golden languor, someone Oogway had personally recruited. He brought with him a boisterous personality, and impressive skill with stealth and wielding a staff. And I was amazed, and grateful, how quickly he became an older brother to Tigress, picking up her spirits, protecting her, and always there with a kind word (and an almond cookie or two, his specialty). Monkey quickly became my second student.

The next person was one closer in age to Tigress, a green tree viper. The daughter of Grand Master Viper, and an expert ribbon dancer, even at such a young age; I thought Oogway was joking, he had to be…until I saw young Viper in action. I knew potential when I saw it. She became my third student.

Next was a recruit from the Li Da Kung Fu Academy. He came highly recommended, even if he was a bit skinny. I knew better than to judge by appearances by now. Crane had impressive grace, even for a member of his species, and I instantly recognized the potential of teaching him Yeying's fighting style. The speed at which he picked it up astounds me to this day; it was as if it were tailored to him.

Last to join us was a praying mantis, the strongest of the five, next to Tigress of course. He had already been a master beforehand, but lacked the discipline to really get somewhere. He had come to the Valley of Peace, not to join us, but as a pilgrimage to the birthplace of kung fu. After a few days of watching my other students train, he decided to accept our invitation to stay.

Before I knew it, I had amassed a quintet of the best fighters China had ever seen. They made my friends and I pale in comparison to their skills. What they lacked in camaraderie, they made up for by working as one body, though they were five individuals with their own personalities. Unlike my friends, all the elements were present.

Tigress was fire, Crane was earth, Viper was water, Mantis was metal and Monkey, surprisingly, was wood. Together, though their personalities sometimes clashed, their teamwork was undeniable.

By the time my daughter turned sixteen, Oogway knew the time had come: he bestowed the title of "Master" upon her. It was an honor Tai Lung never received. Even if Tigress never attained the title of Dragon Warrior, the fact that _my daughter_ became a master a full four years before most people…well, you're damn right I'm proud of her.

But again, I never told her so. If I have one last thing to do before I die, it will be to tell her that. If it's the last thing I ever do, it will be to tell her I love her, and to finally—finally—call her my daughter.

* * *

Tigress had been named a master at the tender age of sixteen…but "tender" was the last word anyone would ever use to describe her. That unrestrained strength of her childhood had been so carefully controlled that she wielded it like a sword, knowing just the right time to take it out, and just the right time to set it aside. That control was further developed through hour after hour of intense meditation…and when she didn't get that full hour, that legendary temper would flare.

She did, however, accomplish something Tai Lung had never been able to do. The first time I told her to train on the obstacle course, I expected her to either go for the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors, or perfect her balance on the rim of the Jade Tortoise. Instead—much to my horror—she went right for the Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion. I thought for sure she would get herself killed…until I needed to dodge the debris of one destroyed club. In less than one minute, she had successfully smashed all seven brutally dangerous clubs, all whilst balancing on the twirling serpents above the pool of water beneath her. And she landed on the other side, bowed to me, without a single drop of sweat on her body.

With such natural talent, is it any surprise why I was devastated she didn't get the Dragon Scroll?

A year after she had become a master, she and my other students decided to do something my friends and I had done years before: they left, in the middle of the night, without my permission, to heed the call of a village in need. While not there for the battle, I am assured that it was where my students received their title: The Furious Five.

Well, after that battle where my students came out with not a single scratch, word of their heroics spread across China. By the time they returned from that battle—clearly expecting me to chastise them—all five were shocked when I handed them a list of the other people who wanted their help.

So many battles…they all string together for me. The Weeping Willow Skirmish, Battle of the Frozen River, The Encounter in the Devil's Bog, Combat against the Five Hundred Tartar Wolves (I have no clue what the hell a Tartar is, so don't bother asking). There was the Clash of the Furious Five versus the Followers of the Death God, and later against the so-called Children of Heaven.

Then there was the battle against the most feared assassins China had seen in generations: the Wu Sisters. Five against three should have been no contest, but those sisters put up an impressive fight every time they squared off against the Furious Five. Those girls, snow leopards, I am told, were likely descendents of the clans Rong Lang and Emperor Yi had destroyed two generations before them; if I had to put a finger on it, I bet those sisters were out for revenge. And indeed, their favorite targets were Emperor Xian Xin's loyalists.

Tigress, the unofficial leader of the Furious Five, never backed down from a fight, especially against them. To date, there have maybe been five or six skirmishes between the two groups, with the Five victorious every single time. The last time, Tigress even received honors from the Emperor, and an offer to join him at his court as an ambassador.

I forbid it. I was going to stay true to my word and never allow her to sully her reputation like Tai Lung had. No, not a chance in Hell. My student—my daughter—was going to stay in China, where it was safe. Well…fine, _relatively_ safe. No matter how strong or how capable she was, I would never have let her be corrupted at the Imperial Palace. I was going to force her to train, daily, without any rest, to study the Thousand Scrolls of Kung Fu, to become better, faster, stronger.

But I had repeated my earlier mistake. I made her too fast, too strong, and yes, too hard. I had stripped away any and every chance she could have at happiness, and I didn't realize this until it was much too late.

* * *

This newfound realization of my treatment—or ill-treatment—of my daughter Tigress weighs heavily upon me. Everything she has accomplished, every battle she's won, it should have brought me peace. It didn't. For every honor she received, it only further reminded me of what I had lost. I don't mean Tai Lung…not fully. As she grew, I saw more and more of Yeying in her.

Though she reminded me of what I had lost, I was too blinded by the grief that still felt fresh in my heart, forty years later. It was impossible for me to move on, especially with my students reminding me so much of my friends who I felt had abandoned me in my hour of need. You would think the Furious Five would have instead brought closure, but that didn't happen until the year Tigress turned twenty-three…when Oogway finally named someone the Dragon Warrior.

He was not what I expected, not by a long shot. But as is the story of my life, I have always depended on others to save me from myself, which is exactly what Po did for me.

* * *

Tigress had been so overcome with emotion that she couldn't speak for the entirety of Po's narration. Her voice became lodged in her throat, she had started crying and was unable to stop. Po still sat next to her, an arm protectively wrapped around her. She spent the whole of the narrative with her head on his shoulder, silently reading the characters on the page, tears cascading down her cheeks. When Po was finished, he rolled up the scroll and hugged her. She didn't pull away; she hugged him back, quietly crying.

"Its okay…it's okay," he assured her, rubbing her back comfortingly. "Didn't I tell you? I knew he loved you, I knew it."

"Tigress," said Viper, slithering over and coiling around her friend. "Its okay…you're okay."

"I know," she sniffed, wiping away her tears…and she was smiling. "I've wanted to know for years if he regretted adopting me…I swore he did. I felt I could never measure up, that he hated me, that I was a burden."

"Hate to say I told you so," Monkey smirked. She smiled back, accepting more reassuring hugs. "He is proud of you, and he does love you, isn't it obvious?" the primate noted.

"He's as proud of you as we are," Crane said, "and nothing's going to change that."

"He might seem heartless…" Mantis started. "But in the end, he did it to help you. You could've turned out like Tai Lung, but thanks to Shifu, you're the girl we know and love."

"You wanna know something else?" Po asked.

She wiped away a stray tear with the back of her hand. "What's that?"

He gave her a friendly squeeze, using his thumb to wipe away another tear. "We love you too."

* * *

Everyone had gone to bed already, but Tigress couldn't sleep. Po decided to keep her company, sitting up to enjoy some green tea with her in the kitchen so they wouldn't disturb the others. Tigress poured another cup, sighing heavily. There was so much swirling around her mind, everything Shifu had said…it was the answer she had been looking for. He had cared about her…he had always cared, even before she could remember. He was right, she didn't remember pouncing and stalking his tail when she was a toddler, but strangely, she _did_ remember one thing…

She started laughing softly.

"What is it?" Po asked.

She smirked, "…Kitty panda."

Po grinned and laughed with her. Once again, he was taken aback by the beauty of the wide smile on her face. Once her giggle fit was over, she sighed happily. "I didn't think…I never expected…I thought he loved Tai Lung more than he loved me…"

"Yeah, but this proves that he _does_ love you, and more than he loved Tai Lung. He gave up on him, but he never gave up on you. Sure, he went a little overboard in protecting you, but at least he _did_ protect you."

She nodded and fell silent. But Po had to ask, "So…I guess you're Dai nationality?"

"Is that a problem?" she asked defensively.

"No, not at all! Actually…it makes you cooler than ever. At least _I_ think so."

"Really?"

He nodded energetically. "But I don't understand why you didn't want anyone knowing you were an orphan…"

"Isn't it obvious?" she sighed dejectedly. "You know how orphans are treated, how they're looked down upon. When I think of where I came from, it hurts…it hurts to know where I came from, to have come from _that_ to _this_."

"But 'this' is great! Sure, maybe you started out as a nobody, like I did, but you and me…we're _somebodies_ now! Everyone loves you, everyone thinks you're the greatest thing ever! And you know what? I bet, if Yeying were alive, she'd be proud of you too."

She sighed, "I don't remember my mother. I've been to Yunnan, sure, but…I always wondered why I felt so at home there. I've always wondered what happened to my parents, and why they abandoned me. But I'm not sure its better to know they're both dead instead of what I thought before."

"Your dad was a hero, and died for you."

"I know. And my mother…" her voice hardened, "If I didn't hate Tai Lung already, and if he weren't dead…I would have killed him without any remorse. None whatsoever."

"But would that have meant anything? Would that have made you happy? My dad always said that 'the problem with an eye for an eye is that both eyes end up blind'."

"Just like Xue Shan," she nodded. "Shifu was right…he _was_ blind."

"But you're not. No matter what, now that I know about your past, that doesn't change how I feel about you."

She looked at him, "It doesn't?"

"Nope. In fact, it only makes me like you more." He smiled at her, and she finally smiled back. But there was something behind that smile, and she saw finally that she had been so foolish not to see it sooner. If the revelation of her master's—her father's—true feelings about her had never been revealed to her, the look on Po's face and the smile on his lips would have made her happier than ever before.

"You know something, Po?" she said, a faint blush on her cheeks and a sweet smile on her lips. "I…I like you too."

* * *

Hmm, looks like someone's no longer in denial :)

Special note: Mrs. Gao's name literally translates to "lamb" in Mandarin. Good times. Next chapter is, you guessed it, the movie's events from Shifu's POV. Get ready to feel da thunder! Oh, and please read and review!


	22. Chapter 22

Apologies for the late update; real life has been a bitch lately, lots of drama. Just keep me in your thoughts, and I'll get through it all.

I'm so glad everyone liked "kitty panda" (don't they kinda look like cats though?); I had so much fun writing Tigress/Mei Jia as a toddler. Plus, I guess everyone deserved a heartening and uplifting chapter after all the drama. 'Kay, now for the **disclaimer**: this whole chapter depicts the events of the movie according to Shifu…who, by the way, I don't own (I apologize in advance for the length). Please remember to leave a review!

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

Chapter 22

* * *

She liked him.

Wait, she…_liked_ him.

He may not have been the shiniest _yuan_ in the bank, but that smile from last night was unmistakable.

Tigress liked Po. As in…she _liked_-liked him. A lot.

But…why? _How_? When? The more he thought about it, the more it made his head spin. She was gorgeous, had everything going for her; she was a master of kung fu, loved and respected all over China, and had achieved more in her near-quarter century of life than he could have ever dreamed for himself. She was akin to royalty, a princess, worthy of being the Emperor's daughter.

He was a noodle chef.

Forget the title, forget the scroll…he still introduced himself as "a noodle maker" before "the Dragon Warrior", out of habit more than anything else. Despite his months of training, despite everything he had learned, everything Shifu and the Furious Five taught him, he was in _no_ way worthy of her. It wasn't self-deprecation; not completely. She was a beautiful tiger; he was a big fat panda. Po was just being realistic.

He had spent most of the night tossing and turning, unable to sleep as the previous day's events swam through his head. It was still dark outside, and he guessed it was long before the gong would sound. He was _never_ up this early. No matter how hard he tried to go back to sleep, it eluded him until he groaned and threw the covers off. Sitting up, he glanced around his darkened room and sighed. He didn't hear anyone else stirring, so he assumed that meant he was the only one up.

He didn't even yawn as he stood and threw on a clean green _hanfu pao _(which matched his eyes, oddly enough), thinking that he might as well start preparing an early breakfast for the others. He tiptoed down the hall, surprising himself when not a single board creaked underfoot. He turned the corner with a satisfied smile strolled the rest of the way to the kitchen. When he got there, he found a lantern already lit, and someone adding logs and kindling to the red hot coals under the stove.

He took a deep breath, bracing himself for…whatever might happen. "Hey Tigress," he smiled.

She turned and smiled back, "Hey Po." Gods help him, she was sporting that same smile from the night before: that same shy, yet grateful and excited smile, as if she was genuinely happy to see him, genuinely happy to have him near her. _It's just a crush,_ he told himself. _She doesn't really like me, she'll get over it. I mean, what can she possibly see in me?_

He smiled back, albeit more restrained, "How'd you sleep?"

"I…I slept alright," she said guardedly, flushing slightly and averting her eyes in a shy way that was very unlike her. Po pursed his lips and thought hard about how to proceed. He'd thought it was a small victory—but a victory nonetheless—when she first smiled at him and called him "master". Earning her respect was one thing; realizing she was starting to like him was another thing entirely.

"You're up pretty early," he said. Small talk was probably not going to get him far, but it was a start. He guessed she just liked him as a friend, now. There was no way she saw him as anything more. He was reading too much into her behavior. That _had_ to be it.

"So are you." She paused and sighed, closing the cast-iron door of the oven. "You couldn't sleep either, could you?"

The panda shook his head, bidding her to sit while he heated some water for tea. "Anything on your mind?" he asked.

She didn't answer right away. He gave her a minute; she was either trying to find the words, or working up the nerve to say something. What she finally said surprised him, "I'm afraid of love."

He whipped his head around so fast he cracked his neck. Nursing his minor strain, he stared at her, "Afraid of love?"

She sighed raggedly, folding her arms on the table and laying her head on top of them, "I've fought for Shifu's love my entire life, and it wasn't until last night that I knew he loved me. He wouldn't have said it so many times, or devoted a whole chapter to me if he didn't. But…part of me believes that's what love is. You said it yourself: sometimes, someone doesn't need to tell you they love you, if they truly did."

"I was just saying that to make you feel better," he confessed, pulling up a chair next to her. He quickly tried explaining himself, telling himself that she wouldn't get mad—or _as_ mad—if he was finally honest. "You've always been so strong, so capable, that I had no idea what to think when I saw you crying that first time. Monkey had told me you cared more than you let on, but I didn't believe him. I had this image of you as being really tough, not caring what anyone thought, and I admired that. You were my hero, Tigress, and still are, and I guess…everyone expects their heroes to be perfect."

If he was trying to make her feel better, it wasn't working. She looked even more miserable now that she knew she had disappointed him. Po bit his lip, further confessing, "But I don't think that anymore. At the time, you'd gone from being this larger-than-life idol to…someone who was normal. Just like everyone else. I didn't know how to handle that. I'm not sure I know how to handle that now. It never occurred to me that you wanted what anyone else wanted. I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" she whispered. Her eyebrows were knitted with worry, and there was an obvious vulnerability in her eyes. She'd never showed that before…so did that mean she trusted him now, trusted him enough to let him see that side of her?

He gulped and declared, "For thinking you weren't human."

Tigress averted her eyes and sighed through her nose. "…I tried not to let it show. I learned early on that crying was a weakness. I didn't cry in front of Shifu, and after a while, I stopped crying altogether. That night we found that painting in Shifu's hiding spot? That was the first time in years I truly let go…"

"Why hold it all in, though?"

She paused, then snorted, "Pride. I guess I'm not so different than Tai Lung after all."

"That's not true," he said, reaching out and taking her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "It hurts to think how much pain you must be feeling, deep inside. But that makes me admire you more: I know you're physically strong, but I didn't know until just now that you had a strong spirit, and a mighty heart. Heck, you deserved the Dragon Scroll…"

"No I didn't," she sighed, squeezing back, silently grateful for that connection. "I've come to accept it. Now that I know so much more about you…Oogway was right. You deserve it more than anyone else." She felt her heart hammering in her chest, and finally worked up the nerve to ask, "You said you liked me, right? Well…how much?"

Po instantly adopted a panicked expression. "Uh…b'wuh?"

"How much do you like me?" she asked again, a little more certainty in her voice.

"I…"

"Po, please, I just want to know…"

Po knew he was skirting into dangerous territory. If he told her the truth, she might scorn him, _but_ if he told her the truth, she might also read too much into it, and end up hurting them both. He couldn't risk that.

"I don't like you." Before the heartbreak could enter her eyes, he corrected, "I love you."

Tigress shot straight up, stunned into silence. "You…you love me?"

Po's mind was screaming at him, _Good, now cover your ass!_ "Yeah…you're like family to me. So, of course I love you. You're like the sister I never had. I used to think you were the big sister, but now…I hope you don't mind if I think of you as the little sister I need to protect…"

There was flicker in her eyes that, for a moment, made him wonder if it was ever there at all…and it looked like disappointment. "Like…your little sister?"

"You can still be the big sister if you want. Just…I hope you don't mind but…I want us to be close…closer." _Good job!_ his mind congratulated. _Ass successfully covered!_

Tigress sighed, lowering her gaze to the tabletop. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what she had been expecting, but it wasn't this. If she had expected him to love her…in that way…how would she have reacted anyway? Would that have made her happy?

She sighed again and looked back at the panda, forcing a smile so that he wouldn't worry, "I'd like that. Thank you, Dragon Warrior."

"Are we interrupting anything?"

Panda and tiger recoiled in shock when Mantis suddenly appeared between them, Po falling backwards and landing hard on the floor, Tigress standing just as quickly to put as much space between her and the panda as possible. "Mantis!" she gasped, quickly gaining control of her tone so as not to betray her guilt. "You're awake!"

"Uh, yeah, I'm usually awake this early…" he said slowly, confused by her unusual behavior. _What exactly have I walked into?_ Then he inwardly smirked_. Oh yeah, I know exactly what's going on._ "So, when are you guys finally going to admit it?"

Po stood up and righted his chair. "Uh…admit what?"

Mantis wanted to bang his head against the wall. He looked over his shoulder as Viper slithered in, garbed in her pink wool sweater and hiding a yawn in her coils. "Hey Viper, you see what I see?" the insect asked.

Viper rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked at the tiger and panda. Then she scowled, "Oh come on, you two, just admit it."

"Admit what?" Tigress asked.

Viper and Mantis gave them a no-nonsense look. "Are you serious?" the serpent asked. "Are you two honestly that blind? We've noticed for well over a week—you two are crazy about each other."

"No we're not," the pair said a little too quickly.

"Just kiss each other and get it over with!" Viper snapped. "There is way too much sexual tension, so just give in!"

"I can't kiss him! Don't you know how inappro—" Tigress was cut off when Po leaned over and quickly pecked her lips. Mantis bit back on a gasp; he hadn't expected Po to actually do it, but now the insect had to respect that the panda had some real _cajones_.

Po quickly picked up the last scroll and held it out to the tiger, whose fingers gently touched her lips, a faraway look in her eyes.

"Uh, you wanna do the honors?"

She blinked and shook herself out of it. "Whuh-huh?" her eyes flicked down to the scroll in his hand. "Oh! Oh, yeah, sure, I can do that…"

* * *

By now, you are probably wondering about the Dragon Warrior. Tai Lung had failed to achieve it as miserably as I had failed to achieve it. I was certain that at least one of my students would have such an honor. How could they not? I had lived up to Li's prediction from many years ago: I was the greatest kung fu master in recent history. I was the best kung fu teacher in all of China, the teacher and master of the Furious Five. If none of the students I trained ever became the Dragon Warrior, then what did that say about me?

First, a little background onto the years, months, and days leading up to the advent of the Dragon Warrior:

Even twenty years after Rong Lang's death, and despite Emperor Xian Xin's repeated attempts, the Mongols still distrusted anyone from China. They even rejected Chinese technology, medicine, philosophy. The sons and grandsons of the Great Khan had learned their lesson, and that was to never trust a Han. I heard little of Borte in that time, but my infrequent letters from Ochir informed me that she was often away from home, flying to and from Mongolia and the Chinese capital. The fact she had known the Great Khan and been a faithful ally and confidante meant very little, as Khan's descendents had completely rejected her. She had married a Han; this was sacrilege, treason. After five unsuccessful years, she resigned as ambassador; it was a grievous loss for the empire. We never regained the peace we'd enjoyed during the last ten years of Emperor Yi's reign. Perhaps it may come again someday, but not during my lifetime.

Additionally, this meant the Furious Five had their work cut out for them. Emperor Xian Xin may be a kind and fair man, and a great ruler, but his army and navy are nowhere near equipped to handle a widespread invasion. Ochir has done as much as he can to keep belligerent countries at bay, but as it turns out, we are now in a time where not only are our borders in jeopardy, but our infrastructure as well. Bandits, warlords and assassins are teeming throughout our land, and caused a massive migration of people to live in the Valley of Peace.

As for myself, the years of heartbreak and pain had turned me from a hopeful youth into a bitter old man. I had lost all hope in humanity, and in the future. But, Fate had another hand to deal me. Before I knew it, the time had come. The time had come to reveal the Dragon Warrior. Oogway had seen enough war, enough bloodshed, enough violence and upheaval. But the constant wars were not the reason for this decision.

No, the catalyst was the worst possible thing that could have happened to me, and the Valley…

* * *

The day Oogway announced it was time to choose the Dragon Warrior, he had called me to the Sacred Hall of Warriors for a private meeting. There, he confided a vision.

"Tai Lung will return."

Memories flashed across my vision, of the showdown in the very hall in which we now stood, and the ferocious monster I had created. To me, this was worse than if he'd confided an imminent invasion, or a plague, or…other unseen horrors that would have petrified the average Chinese. Of course, these didn't immediately pop into my head; I had spent so much time in the Valley of Peace and so little time traveling that the first worry was the safety of the citizens in the Jade Mountain's shadow. "But…that is impossible! He is in prison!"

"Nothing is impossible…" my master warned.

I felt my blood freeze in my veins. No, I couldn't allow this to happen. The first rampage had been terrible enough. Extensive preparations needed to be taken care of.

"Zeng!" I called for the palace messenger. "Fly to Chorh-Gom prison!" I ordered. "I want them to double the guards, double their weapons…double _everything_! Tai Lung does _not_ leave that prison!"

As the goose scrambled to fly off and carry out my orders, my master had turned to the Moon Pool. "One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it."

"Master, we can't let him walk on the valley, and let him take his revenge! He'll…he'll…" I didn't want to think of how horrible it could be. The atrocities he had committed the first time around were too gruesome for me to even think about. Predicting how horrible that rage would be after it had been stewing for twenty years…it didn't bear thinking about.

He quickly interrupted me, pointing to the Moon Pool with his staff. "Your mind is like this water my friend. When it is agitated, it becomes difficult to see…but if you allow it to settle…" here he tapped the tip of his staff against the water's surface. The once rippling and agitated surface settled, and reflected in the still waters was the answer.

"The Dragon Scroll…" I gasped.

He said with great gravity, "It is time."

Time…the time had finally come. I had given up hope that it would have happened in my lifetime. "But who? Who is worthy of the secret, to become…the Dragon Warrior?"

He paused. "I don't know," he said, as if the answer were obvious.

* * *

An announcement went out to the entire valley: a tournament was to be held to decide the Dragon Warrior. It seemed to go without saying that one of the Furious Five would be given that honor and, by extension, so would I.

Before joining my master in the Arena where the entire Valley was gathering, I wrote a quick letter to Commander Vachir at Chorh-Gom Prison, urging him to be extra vigilant, and extra cautious. I had been in limited contact with him over the years. The first five years of Tai Lung's imprisonment, I routinely received a letter about every two weeks updating me of the prisoner's condition. After Borte had retired her position as an ambassador to Mongolia, those reports trickled down like a spring in a drought, until I had gone five years without an update. The only clue that Tai Lung was still in prison was that we still had the Dragon Scroll…and that I was still alive.

And that worried me. If there was one thing that could be said about Tai Lung—two things, actually—it was that he was determined, but also very crafty if he needed to be. And if he were to try and escape, as Master Oogway predicted, that only increased my worry.

I sent Zeng on his way and quickly rushed to the Arena, passing my students along the way. They were standing to the side, awaiting the signal to appear. I carried on down the steps to await my master, who slowly lumbered down from the Hall of Warriors.

"It is a historic day, Master Oogway," I said proudly when he reached the Arena's platform; it was the same platform he had held during my first tournament many, many years ago. This time, I would be a spectator. I was jumpy with both nerves and excitement, but my chest was swelling with pride as well.

"A day I did not think I would live to see," he agreed. "Now know this old friend: whoever I choose today will bring peace not only to the valley…but also to you."

I fell silent, contemplating what he had said as the announcer declared, "Let the tournament begin!"

I introduced each of my students to the citizens, everyone from the oldest elder to the tiniest baby cheering for their heroes. I smiled proudly at the Furious Five. They were all my students, and all of them were amazing in their own ways. They could stand by themselves as the greatest warriors in China, but at the same time, together, they were unstoppable.

I remember feeling guilty then, that whoever would be chosen would break up the Furious Five. I'm reminded how much the Five were like my friends and I. The more I think of it, the more I see parallels.

Mantis was definitely Li, with that sharp wit and cunning streak; Monkey's easy-going and steady nature, was definitely Ochir; Viper was Yeying (no contest); and Crane, I always assumed, was as much like me as any of them, though in actuality, he's much calmer than I had ever been; and Tigress, well, at the time I believed she resembled Shan most, but the fact of the matter is…she actually most resembles _me_.

"…And finally, Master Tigress!" I declared to a roaring crowd. "Believe me, Citizens, you have not seen anything yet! Master Tigress will face Iron Ox and his Blades of Death!" I watched as Tigress prowled over to Iron Ox, the metal and wooden contraption I'd designed just for her use. She dipped low into a battle stance, her eyes trained on her adversary…

Then a hush fell over the crowd. I looked at Oogway, knowing he was the only one who could have calmed the crowd at such a tense moment. His eyes were closed, his hand aloft, feeling the air for _chi_ flow, then said:

"I sense the Dragon Warrior is among us."

I glanced down at Tigress, who was looking around curiously, scanning the crowd, and her friends' faces, as if by doing so she could find the source of the warrior's chi. I caught her eye and nodded once; immediately she and the rest of the Furious Five lined up in the middle of the arena floor, standing tall and proud as I had taught them to.

"Citizens of the Valley of Peace!" I announced, "Master Oogway will now choose the Dragon Warrior!"

The crowd roared louder as Oogway began to slowly walk down the steps to the arena floor. The pig announcer standing next to me bit his lip.

"I don't think you have a reason to be so nervous," I said crossly.

"Normally, I would agree with you, sir," he said. "But I remember the rampage."

I closed my eyes and took a calming, meditative breath. Of course, there was no way I was the only one worried about that. Dragon Warrior or not, I think, the citizens would have been just as happy without the Dragon Warrior if it meant keeping the unstable peace we now enjoyed. If it meant not risking a repeat of Tai Lung's rampage, they would have been content with it, as surely as I would have. I tried telling myself not to hope anymore, that hope is what had destroyed me, and what had destroyed Tai Lung.

Not a fair point of view, you say? Can you honestly deny me that belief, after reading the aforementioned events in my life? Whenever I had hope, my hopes were dashed, and I was left with nothing. The only way to protect myself from further heartache was to have no hope at all.

Though—and I routinely beat myself up over it—I held out hope one of the Five would be the Dragon Warrior, and that I would still have the honor of teaching the Peacemaker, the Ultimate Warrior, the All-Powerful Protector.

Oogway had finally made it down to the Arena floor, trudging straight for my students, his hand aloft, feeling the air. I could have imagined it, but I swear I could actually _see_ the _chi_ flow through his fingers. I bit my lip; he had taken a step towards Tigress. I felt my heart rate quicken until the only thing I could hear was the pounding of blood in my own ears. Someone, somewhere, had set off premature celebratory fireworks, but premature or not, if Oogway's hand rested on Tigress, I wouldn't care; it would be a celebration, one I had waited for over—

Someone screamed and all eyes turned skyward. I looked up and only had a short moment to see the large black and white form free-falling from the sky with a panicked wail, then hit the Arena floor with a loud, heavy, sickening thud.

The crowd gasped in horror and alarm. My students broke formation to investigate. I saw Mantis checking the large figure's vital signs, then step away with a silent nod; whoever it was, was still alive. Crane, Viper and Monkey all looked relieved, Viper getting closer to see if there was anything she could do. Crane stood back to give the poor creature some air when it became clear he was coming around, and I saw Monkey send Viper a hopeful smile; the poor creature was going to be fine. But this didn't keep Tigress from being on the defensive. She hated being caught off-guard, and this was one of those times where her warrior's instinct overtook her humanity (by the way, her putting fighting and strength before compassion and mercy…yup, my fault too. This list of grievances against my daughter is longer than I'm comfortable with…).

I narrowed my eyes, perking my ears to listen closer. The huge black and white blob shook his head to bring himself back to clarity, then gaped when his gaze focused on Oogway's outstretched finger.

"Oh!" the blob—a giant panda—gasped, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to see who the Dragon Warrior was…"

Now that his life was no longer in danger, I had no problem rolling my eyes. _Peasants_.

"How interesting…" my master said, with genuine significance.

"Master, were you pointing at…me?" Tigress asked, stepping forward with a hopeful look. I held my breath, waiting for Oogway to say "Why as a matter of fact, yes, I was. Congratulations, Tigress."

Instead, I heard him say: "Him."

"Huh?" the panda asked, staring at the pointing claw. I'm sure I was just as confused as the panda looked. Tigress and I shared a look—what the hell was going on? Then Oogway announced, holding the bear's flabby arm high:

"The universe has brought us the Dragon Warrior!"

The panda blinked in confusion, "…What?"

My students' faces fell, "WHAT?"

"WHAT?!" I gaped, slack-jawed. The announcer next to me rang the gong which brought on the celebration, but, of course, I didn't feel like celebrating. This was a joke. This had to be a joke. That panda…there was no way the panda could possibly be the Dragon Warrior. There was no way he could know kung fu! He was a _peasant_ for crying out loud! He lacked the physique, the grace, and the discipline to be a kung fu warrior…perhaps Oogway had finally lost his mind after all.

I snapped back to attention as a quartet of geese shuffled past me with the Dragon Chair, the sedan chair made especially for the Dragon Warrior's use. "Stop! Wait! Who told you to—"

They ignored me, continuing on their way and stopping at the feet of the panda. Oh no, oh _hell_ no, I was not going to tolerate this. I had been humiliated, _completely_ humiliated. There was no way Oogway could be serious!

As the palanquin bearers scuttled up to the panda and lifted him into the chair—which proved too much for the ducks and geese, it seemed—I dashed down the steps to Oogway, who was slowly lumbering away as my five students bowed their heads in respect.

"Master Oogway, wait!" I called, blocking his path. "That flabby panda can't possibly be the answer to—" I cut myself off just in time; it would do no good to alert the villagers to the potential danger. I lowered my voice and finished my statement, "—our problem! You were about to point at Tigress and that _thing_ landed in front of her! It was just an accident!"

"There are no accidents," he smiled knowingly.

A sharp cracking noise alerted us to the steps leading up to the Sacred Hall of Warriors. The panda's weight had caused the platform supporting him to fall through; his lower torso now hung from the hole he had made. Four pigs came to the rescue, having an easier time lifting the large bear, though I use the word "easier" very lightly.

My eye started to twitch again. I had not felt it twitching for a good few years. I had been annoyed before, but the last time I had been so agitated, the Furious Five had departed without my permission in order to fight a battle. They were my students, and I forgave them once I learned of their outstanding success. But now…the fat panda was now my student. By default, I was his master now. There was no way he knew kung fu, no way in Hell. I refused to believe it, refused to think that a panda—a _giant panda_!—could be the ultimate warrior!

See? I'm still chuckling at the idea. The gods of irony must still be rolling on the floor.

The Five had walked up behind me; Tigress was the first to speak. I had never seen her look so rejected, not even at Bao Gu had she ever looked so depressed.

"Forgive us, Master," she quietly said, bowing low, "We have failed you." I think she was so disappointed she would have kowtowed if I allowed it.

All five of them bowed to me, looking drawn and pale, the familiar light of youthful optimism dulled in their eyes. No, I was not going to accept this. There was no way that I, nor my students, would be so disrespected.

"No," I said sharply. "If the panda is not gone by morning, it is _I_ who will have failed _you_."

"What…what will you do?" Crane asked warily. He was never one to be direct; I relied on Tigress and Mantis for that. Crane was the one who kept the peace. And I recall that he posed the question "what will _you_ do" not "what will _we_ do". Even then, despite his disappointment…he didn't want to hurt the poor creature. Well, not as much as Tigress likely did.

I thought for a moment, then a slow smile spread across my lips as a cruel plan came to mind. I said,

"If the panda truly wants to be a kung fu master…he's going to have to survive _my_ training."

I didn't need to look back at them to know they had exchanged nervous looks. Even Tigress looked like she took pity on the panda. My training on the Five had been worse than my training on Tai Lung—they wouldn't have wished my methods on their worst enemies.

* * *

I took the back way and made it to the Hall of Warriors before the procession did. Most likely, I was swifter than the bearers were, simply because of the massive weight they were carrying. I hid myself behind a pillar, softly playing my flute as I waited. When I heard the doors to the Sacred Hall of Warriors opening, I waited for the exact moment to reveal myself. But first, I had to see what I was dealing with.

The bearers unceremoniously deposited him on the floor, bowed and scuttled out, slamming the doors behind them.

"Wait!" he cried out to them. "There seems to be some sort of mistake. Everyone seems to think that I'm eh…whoa…" he trailed off, his eyes growing wide. "The Sacred Hall of Warriors; no _way_!" He glanced around, then he gasped, running over to Ochir's armor and excitedly proclaiming, "Master Flying Rhino's armor…with _authentic battle damage_!"

He danced and pranced around the room with loud whoops and exultations at each artifact, like a child at a festival. But I had to admit, I was impressed. For a peasant, he knew quite a bit about these artifacts. He knew about the Sword of Heroes, the Invisible Trident of Destiny, Lady Wind Song's fan, the ninja weapons of Master Dog, the Shield of Fire Monkey Pass, the Iron Fist, and paintings he had only seen paintings of…

Then he froze in the middle of the floor, slack jawed, and stared, "_Nooo…_!" he scurried over to… "The Legendary Urn of Whispering Warriors…said to contain the souls of the entire Tenshu army!"

I rolled my eyes. This needed to end, and it needed to end now. As the panda whispered, "Hello?" into the urn, I cleared my voice and spoke up:

"Have you finished site-seeing?"

He gasped, but didn't turn around, "I'm sorry, I should've come to see you first!"

"My patience is wearing thin."

"Oh…really? I mean, it's not like you were going anywhere."

It took me a moment to realize he wasn't talking to me…he was talking to the urn. _Oh for the love of… _"Would you turn around?" I asked, trying to keep my temper under control.

"Sure," he looked over his shoulder and greeted me, "Hey, how's it going?" and just as suddenly he was back to the urn: "So how do you get five h—" he gasped and jumped, "Master Shifu!"

However, when he jumped, he bumped the pedestal and the urn went crashing to the floor. This stupid, clumsy oaf destroyed an important piece of kung fu history, and worse…he tried to cover it up.

"Um…someone…broke that. But don't worry, I'll fix it…if you've got some glue or…" he bent down to pick up the shards, only managing to knock over the pedestal, which hit him in the head as it fell. "Ow! Ooh…splinter…"

I tried to keep my face straight. "So you're the legendary Dragon Warrior, hmm?"

"I…guess so?"

"WRONG!" I snapped.

He flinched and cowered.

I continued, "You are not the Dragon Warrior. You will never be the Dragon Warrior until you have mastered the secret of the Dragon Scroll." I pointed to the ceiling with my flute, drawing his attention to the sacred scroll clutched in the Gold Dragon's teeth. The panda looked amazingly impressed, no doubt because of his upbringing. He must have never seen such finery, or ever imagined it in his wildest dreams.

He breathed deeply, "Whoa…" He composed himself quickly, and asked, "So, how does this work? Do you have a ladder, or a trampoline?"

I chuckled, fingering my flute as I studied him, "You think it's that easy? That I'm just going to _hand_ you the secret to _limitless power_?!"

"What? No! I…"

"One must first master the highest level of kung fu, and that is clearly impossible if that someone…is someone like _you_."

"Someone like me?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, look at you!" I snapped, slapping various parts of his frame with my flute as I called attention to his physical shortcomings. In hindsight, my grandfather's flute probably didn't deserve that mistreatment. "This fat butt…flabby arms!"

"Hey, those are sensitive in the flabby parts…" he said as he rubbed his sore arm.

"And this ridiculous belly!" I jabbed the flute in his paunch.

"Hey!" he protested, stepping back a few paces.

"…And utter disregard for personal hygiene," I concluded.

"Now waitaminute, that's a little uncalled for," he pointed at me, now thoroughly annoyed. Good.

"Don't stand that close, I can smell your breath," I took a step away. I could indeed smell salty broth and onions on his breath and wondered when the last time was he brushed his teeth.

He tried to save face, "Listen, Master Oogway said that…"

I grabbed his finger in between my thumb and index finger, and raised my pinkie. It was a gamble, and horribly cruel, but I could have always said later that it was an accident, or that I was provoked…

But he surprised me—shocked me, even—when he gasped and cowered fearfully. "The Wuxi finger hold! Not the Wuxi finger hold!" he begged on both knees.

He…knew about the hold? How? There was thousands of kung fu warriors who didn't even believe it existed, many more had never even heard of it. How did this _peasant_ know? But I hid my surprise, and as much as I hated to admit it at the time, he had impressed me.

"Oh hoho, you know this hold?" I taunted, chuckling darkly.

He fired off like it was second nature, nodding fearfully, "Developed by Master Wuxi in the third dynasty, yes!"

I chuckled, "So you must know what happens when I flex my pinkie…you know the hardest part of this? The hardest part…" I paused for effect, "…is cleaning up afterwards."

I was enjoying it a little too much. But at the time I didn't care. I wasn't behaving as a real master should have…but the concept of training a student like the Panda was…frankly, outrageous. I was outraged. If anyone, I wanted Tigress to be the one to gain the scroll…but perhaps I still had a chance. If I could get him to quit, get him to renounce the title…that left it open. The Furious Five would still have a chance. Tigress would still have a chance.

"Now listen closely, Panda…" I drilled into his head. "Oogway may have picked you, but when I'm through with you, you're going to wish he _hadn't_. Are we clear?"

"Yeah, we're clear, we are _so_ clear." He looked like I had completely scared the living daylights out of him. But I wasn't done yet.

"Good," I chuckled gleefully, intending to take full enjoyment of his predicament. With a final wicked grin, I said, "I can't wait to get started."

* * *

The first stop was the training hall. I threw open the doors, grateful that the Five had done what I had always expected of them. Even though they had had a long and rather...disappointing day, they were venting their frustrations and obviously angry fury at their training. Training had helped rein in Tigress' temper; and remarkably, it worked for the others too.

I saw Crane swoop in through the open skylight and land on the Jade Tortoise, deflecting incoming spears with his wings. Mantis was dashing in between the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors, lightning fast. Viper practiced her agility on the Field of Fiery Death, leaping and slithering to avoid the unpredictable bursts of fire through the iron pipes. Monkey swung his body off of the Serpent Rings hung from the ceiling. And right in front of us, Tigress leapt nimbly across the spinning serpents above the pool, dodging the Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion, one of which she hit with an open palm, smashing it to bits from the forceful fury of her strike.

I managed to dodge the flying debris, but one heavy block hit the Panda right in the forehead. As he recovered, I burrowed my hands inside my wide sleeves.

"Let's get started."

"W-w-wait…" the Panda stammered, staring fretfully at the most dangerous obstacle course in the Jade Palace's history. If _this_ didn't scare him off, I didn't know what would. "…Now?"

"Yes, now," I affirmed. "Unless you think the Great Oogway was wrong, and you are not the Dragon Warrior."

"Oh well, uh…" he lowered his voice, pointing at the gauntlet, "I don't know that I can do…all of that."

"Well, if we don't try, we'll never know, will we?" I smirked, walking off along the platform.

"Well, I'm just saying…" he followed in my wake. "Maybe we could start at something closer to…my level?"

"And what level is that?" I asked. It would be interesting to see what—if anything—he knew. Kung fu history, yes. But practice?

"Well, I'm not a master…"

_No shit_, I thought.

"…but let's just start at Zero. Level Zero."

I couldn't hold back the laugh, "Oh ho no…there is no such thing as 'Level Zero'."

Suddenly he brightened up, now lighter on his feet (if that were possible, given his size). "Hey! Maybe I can start with that!" I watched incredulously as he skipped over to the Adversary. I inwardly groaned, but decided to destroy his enthusiasm by further ridiculing him.

"That? We use that for training children…and for propping the door open when it is hot. But, if you insist…"

Behind me, the Furious Five had paused their training, coming over to finally meet the one who was to be their ultimate master. Viper and Crane looked mostly curious, Monkey and Mantis skeptical at best. Tigress…well, I don't think I could accurately describe the full measure of disdain in her expression. In fact, had I not been there, I would not have put it past her to completely destroy him, one way or another.

I didn't want to kill the kid. I wasn't that heartless. I'm not saying she would have, but it's safe to assume he wouldn't leave the Jade Palace without a scratch…or something a little more serious.

But if he was discouraged by the looks the Five were giving him, he didn't show it. In fact, he seemed to be quite the avid fan. "Whoa! The Furious Five! Wow, you're so much bigger than your action figures!" he paused, "…except for you, Mantis…you're about the same."

I lieu of a twitching eye, Mantis just ticked an antennae in annoyance.

I broke the uncomfortable silence: "Go ahead, Panda, show us what you can do."

He paused, twiddled his thumbs distractedly, then asked me in a lowered voice as he glanced at the Five, "Um…are they gonna watch, or should I just wait until they get back to work or something?"

"Hit it," I ordered.

"Okay, um…I just ate, so much kung fu may not be as good as…later on…"

"Just hit it."

He finally relented, and…started taunting the dummy. Taunting it, like he would have done to an enemy. It was almost painful to watch. I had never heard of "get ready to feel the thunder" or "betcha never seen bear style". I cringe just writing these down. It doesn't bear repeating whatever else he said; no doubt he'd lose China's respect if everyone knew what a…novice he was. Believe me, that is the kindest word I have for it.

I finally gave in to my impatience, snapping, "Will you _hit_ it?!"

He stopped. "Okay, here goes…" he drew back his arm, hand balled into a fist and he…tapped it. Even Li, who had not been the strongest of my friends, could do much more damage than that when he was _five_. The panda didn't even look like he had tried.

"Why don't you try again?" I suggested. "A little harder."

The Panda drew his arm back again, and this time gave a real punch—if it could be called that. But the dummy had done as I expected it to. The panda didn't even get the chance to ask "How was that?" before the dummy teetered back and then forward again, knocking the bear off the platform…and right into the middle of the obstacle course.

Well, as much as I'm sure the Five were _not_ pleased with the latest addition to the Jade Palace, I do have to commend them for rushing forward to try to save the poor bastard. They only stopped when I ordered them to, and they watched helplessly—and yet with some amusement—as the obstacle course effectively handed him his ass. There is no better way to describe it, honestly. It was brutal, too brutal to put into words. All I'm willing to say is that the Field of Fiery Death was neither kind nor forgiving.

After getting torched, hit, struck and bruised in inestimable places on his tubby body, he literally dragged himself back to us, his fur singed and smoking, and in the case of a couple hairs on his head, still burning. "…How did I do?" he gasped.

I had to curb my enthusiasm as I extinguished the flame with my fingers and announced, "There is now a Level Zero."

* * *

I was positively ecstatic, and yes, quite proud of my work. Without a doubt, the panda would be gone by dawn, or, if I had scared him enough, was probably already on his way home. I made my way back to my quarters right after his disgraceful attempt in the training hall, chuckling to myself.

_Shifu, you are a __**genius**__!_ I thought, of course, that it was not very likely the panda could renounce the title; he probably had no choice once Oogway named him the Dragon Warrior. But he could not assume the title until he had learned the Dragon Scroll's secrets. As far as I knew, it seemed possible for him to give up. People renounced titles all the time. If one no longer wished to be a magistrate, they resigned. If a ruler were disgraced, they abdicated their positions. Surely if someone didn't want the Dragon Scroll, they would give that up as well.

But if there was one thing Po Ping taught me, it was that a real warrior never quits.

"It sounds like you gave him a rough first day."

I jumped, clutching my heart. I had not noticed my master standing there until he had spoken. He stood in the doorway of my quarters, smiling in a knowing way. He probably knew what I was trying to accomplish, and just as he was barring my way to my personal quarters, he was symbolically barring my attempts to blatantly disobey him.

I needed to defend myself. "I treated him as I treated every student that came to me."

"How curious: I don't remember Hu, Jin or Tao being so abused."

Hearing Hu's name, twenty years later, was hard. I had trained him from a tender age until he took over the family business, and later came to work at the palace. And it was in this service to us that he was killed. If his family could come away with anything, it was knowing he had died a hero.

I shook myself out of that memory, "An entirely different scenario. Neither of those three would have faced Tai Lung, or tried to bring peace to the Valley, or to China. There is much more at stake here." I was quite proud of myself for this turn in logic. Oogway nodded, affirming my point.

"True, but he seemed…rather upset, earlier. He found the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom quite quickly, as if he knew it was a place to attain peace of mind."

"I can't help my methods. You know how hard I was on the Five. If I am too hard, at least I'm doing it for their benefit."

"I have my own theories about that," he smiled. "Have you ever considered you made them _too_ hard?"

"Because they _need_ to be hard, Master," I reasoned. "There is no way they could have achieved the things they did without that strength."

Oogway frowned and shook his head. "I don't think you understand, old friend. There are different kinds of strength. The panda has much to learn from you, this is true…but perhaps you can learn quite a few things from him."

I scoffed, "When I feel like learning how to stuff my face or pack on fifty pounds in a week, he'll be the first one I'd go to."

Oogway frowned again.

I sighed, "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to be a _teacher_."

"I _am_ a teacher."

"_Are_ you?"

I wanted to snap back at him, but his last question caught me off guard. I was stunned that he questioned me in such a way. When I didn't answer right away, he only nodded and started to walk away.

"If you ever want to talk about it, Shifu," he called over his shoulder. "You know where to find me."

* * *

The next morning, I greeted my students as I always had. At the break of dawn, I waited for the gong to ring. Before the echo died off, five doors were thrown open and five students stood to attention. "Good morning, Master!" the chorused.

The Panda's door was still closed.

"Panda!" I barked, marching up to the doors and throwing them open. "Panda! Wake up!" I stopped in surprise…then chuckled, giving myself a mental pat on the back. His room was empty, and it looked like the bed had never been slept in. S_weet, sweet victory…_"He's quit."

So my plan had worked after all! I expected it to be a challenge, but it had been easier than I thought.

Or so I thought until I opened the doors to the courtyard of the training hall. There he was, in all his tubby glory, grunting, sweating and making bearish noises as he tried—keyword being _tried_—to do a split.

"What are you doing here?!" I demanded.

He straightened and punched a fist into his palm, "Ah, good morning, master! I just thought I'd…warm up a little…" and he got back to his stretching. But he was making too much of an effort. It didn't take me long to realize what the problem was.

"You're stuck."

"What? Me? Stuck? Pfft, no, I'm not, this is just…yeah, I'm stuck."

"Help him,' I said to Crane, who sighed wearily and strode forward. He had to grab hold of the panda's shorts and yank him off the balance beams, the bear falling hard onto his back. While the bear bothered to thank the avian master, Crane brushed him off, as I'm sure the rest of the five would have.

Well, my plan to scare him off hadn't worked. But perhaps, if I was a bigger hard-ass on him than the rest of the Five…maybe that would make him quit.

"You thought you could learn to a full split in one night?" I spotted some concrete floor tiles we used for strength training. Acting on impulse, I plucked up two and hurled them into the air. "It takes years to develop one's flexibility…" Tigress crouched down beside me, staring intently at the tiles.

"…and years longer…" I said, snapping my fingers; she launched herself high into the air.

"…to apply it in combat." As I finished, Tigress had performed a perfect side-split kick, smashing both tiles to dust. She landed softly, nary a sound, and made a dismissive noise at the panda, straightened and calmly walked back to me. I noted the proud look in her eye; I was proud _for_ her.

But the panda was not intimidated by the show of force. If fact, when the debris, gravel and dust fell to the ground, a larger rock hit him on the head and fell to his feet, but he hardly noticed it; he was too busy staring at Tigress. Well, my "Father-Eye" picked up that _look_ in his eyes.

No. Hell no. Abso-_fucking_-lutely _not_! My ire was further stoked when he reached down to collect that same rock…to collect it and treasure it like a priceless relic, and all because Tigress had touched it. Oh no, no, not _my_ little girl!

"Put. That. Down!" I barked. "The only souvenirs we collect here are bloody knuckles and broken bones!"

I hoped to intimidate him, this tubby, flabby, fat and disgusting _creature_ who _dared_ stare at _my daughter_ like that! Having a panda becoming the Dragon Warrior was insult enough. Having him _stay_ in the palace, _defy_ me by staying, and now this fat fanboy had the audacity to _eye my daughter like she was a slab of meat_?!

I was going to kill him.

Murder him.

I think, if one can forgive me, I stopped being Master Shifu at that moment, and suddenly became the Overprotective Father. Of course, I couldn't let anyone in on my true feelings on the matter. The sooner I ran this obese punk out of town, the sooner everything could go back to normal, we could find the true Dragon Warrior, and I could continue to keep all men away from my daughter until she either gave up and decided to become a nun (which I secretly hoped), or defied me and found some dumb schmuck and got married.

Instead of what I had hoped would happen, the panda looked eager. He grinned, tossing the rock nonchalantly over his shoulder and nodded, punching a meaty fist into his equally meaty palm. "YEAH! Excellent!"

I smirked. _You poor, stupid bastard, you have no idea what's coming…_

"Let's get started."

To say we went easy on him…well, _I_ think we were going easy on him. All that fat made for impressive padding. I think this was the only thing that prevented any serious injuries. I think Crane noticed I was perfectly content with killing the damned bear if need be, but before I chose an opponent for the panda to face, the bird pulled me aside.

"Master Shifu, a thousand pardons, but…with all due respect…"

"Out with it."

"I think we should take it easy on him."

I glared at him.

Amazingly, he stood his ground. Crane is not one to usually be so direct; he prefers to stay out of confrontations. In this case though, it appeared a confrontation was exactly what he feared…

"If we don't, and he dies," he nodded at the eager bear, "well, he belongs to _some_ villager's family. I don't think we want that on our shoulders."

Damn it. Damn him and his irrefutable logic.

I relented with a sigh. "Fine, send Viper first."

This probably wasn't a good idea. I should have remembered Viper was most like Yeying (or so I thought); when she fought—I use the word loosely—the panda, she appeared to be punishing him…and enjoying it far too much.

Crane gave me a look. Somehow, the avian from Li Dai always managed to gently cajole me to a kinder path. He has a way of calming everyone. My guess is all the time he spent with Master Oogway.

Monkey was next, probably the better choice. He was an easy-going soul, who honestly wanted to see what the bear was made of. They fought with staves, if I recall. And, unfortunately, the panda got beaten to a pulp.

Crane volunteered next. We set them up on the Jade Tortoise. This did little more than have the panda fall in and roll around like a dumpling in a bowl. Patient as he was, I could tell Crane was clearly regretting being so easy on the bear. In fact, as the panda rolled out of the Jade Tortoise and fought not to lose his lunch, Crane whispered to me, "Maybe Mantis next?"

"I was considering Tigress," I hissed.

"I'm not saying that is a bad idea, Master," he nodded and quickly reminded me, "but the funeral would still be on the Jade Palace's bill."

Damn.

I sighed, "Fine. Mantis, get over there."

And believe it or not, Mantis handed the bear his fat ass (the panda's ass, not Mantis', just so we're clear).

By the time Mantis was finally tired out, it was sundown, and the panda had a full fourteen hours of abuse from four highly-trained kung fu masters. I smirked in triumph. No offense to Master Mantis, but nothing could be more humiliating to the panda than have his ass handed to him by an insect. So there he was, the fat, disgusting beast lying on his back. He raised his arms… _Cry 'Uncle'_¸ I thought. _Cry 'Uncle', you stupid, big, fat…_

He punched his fist into his palm. He wasn't done. He wanted more.

How…there was no way. Either he was very brave, very stubborn, or very stupid. I'd had it. He was going to be gone from this mountain today, or so help me, I'd ensure that a funeral _would_ be necessary!

"I've been taking it easy on you, panda, but no more!"

I saw Tigress straighten up next to me, thinking it to be her turn. I hated to disappoint her.

"Your next opponent will be me."

Tigress' eyes widened and I saw the Five taking a simultaneous step back. I wasn't fucking around anymore. I think the step back was to be out of the line of fire, and to avoid the blood splatter.

If I expected fear from him, if I expected him to cower and plead and beg for mercy, it wasn't going to happen. He grinned and rolled back up. "Alright, yeah, let's go!"

"Step forth!" I snapped. When he took the first step, I reached out and grabbed a fistful of his fur and lifted him over my head, twirling him around and around before slamming him hard into the ground.

"The true path to victory is to find your opponent's weakness against him!" I lectured as I beat him up. I waited for him to straighten before I leapt up and delivered a volley of kicks to his chest and face; I grabbed him by the neck and threw him down, yanking back on his headfur. He was grinning like an idiot, wanting more.

"To take his strength," I continued, "and use it against him, until he falls or quits!" I had him on his stomach, my foot on the back of his neck, jerking his head back by yanking on his nostrils.

"But a true warrior never quits!" he declared with a nasally voice. "Don't worry, Master, I will _never_ quit!"

That did it. I had no other choice. I had to literally kick him out. So I did. I quickly guessed by his size he probably weighed the same Tiny had all those years ago…so I used the same moves on him. In less than five seconds after he had uttered those famous last words, he went flying through the double doors and began bouncing down the steps, his cries and groans echoing up the mountain.

The Five slowly walked over to the top step, watching as he bounced.

"If he's smart, he won't come back up those steps," I heard Tigress say.

"But he will," Monkey sighed.

Tigress pulled away from the others and came back inside the training facilities. She paused just long enough to bow to me, "Master Shifu, may I have your permission to train in the training hall before dinner?"

This puzzled me. "Tigress, you have never needed to ask before. You know I expect nothing less from you."

"I know, Master, but…I'm not feeling too hungry right now."

I saw the hidden message in her eyes. They had always been expressive, and probably always will be.

"Tigress," I said firmly, "The panda will not stay. You have my solemn word that he will not be here much longer."

She looked up at me and I swore I saw the flicker of doubt. "Yes Master, I know."

"Tigress?"

"Yes, Master?"

I paused, ruminating slowly. Then I looked up at her and said, "If and when he comes back up those steps…if you feel like it, give him a dose of the Tiger style for me, would you?"

"But Master, considering the wounds he must have already…" I commend her for actually looking concerned for his well-being "…wouldn't that kill him?"

"Give him just enough to make him want to leave."

"But what if he won't?"

"Then let the fool kill himself trying!" I finally snapped. "That fat slob will be out of this palace before tomorrow's sunset, one way or another, you mark my words!"

Tigress was a little taken aback, and truly, I myself am shocked by my own reaction. She collected herself quickly and said, "Yes, Master Shifu. Shall I practice on the Seven Swinging—"

"Do whatever you want," I waved her off. "You're all dismissed."

* * *

I had been too harsh on her, I know. I didn't mean to snap at her, surely, but its likely she took it personally. For all her training, she tended to see my criticisms as personal attacks; yet one more thing to apologize for…

I suppose there is a silver lining, though: if Yeying had heard me berate our daughter over the years, she may very well have killed me (or permanently banished me to the dog house). And it was with this feeling that I retired to the training hall later that night for some meditation…

"Inner peace…Inner peace…" I chanted, trying my best to focus on my breathing and ignore the stressors around me. I figured with a clearer mind, I could find an answer to my big fat monochromatic problem. If it weren't for the incessant flapping…

"In-in-in-in…inner peace…"

_Flap-flap-flap-flap-flap…_

I finally gave up and snapped, "Would whoever's making that flapping noise quiet down!" I paused, not hearing anything. I smiled and returned to my meditation. "Inner—"

A loud rustle of feathers, then a body hit the floor with a loud quack. _Gods damn it all!_ I decided to give up. Inner peace wasn't coming tonight, but maybe I could relieve some stress by taking it out on whoever interrupted me.

When I turned round, my anger dissipated slightly, and I allowed myself a smile.

"Ah, Zeng! Excellent, I could use some good news right now."

Whatever Zeng was going to say, he stopped abruptly. The goose looked down at his wing feathers, then started, "Uh…"

I groaned; Vachir and his men must have ignored my message. I had a feeling Tai Lung wasn't the only student between Ochir and I who had problems with arrogance…

"Alright, what did they do? Did they ridicule me? Laugh about it?"

"Not exactly…" he mumbled.

"Was the prison at least secure?"

"Um," he gulped. "Uh…yes…it _was_ secure…"

"They were lax in their duties, I knew it! And I bet they sent you back to tell me…"

"Actually, Master Shifu," he said tremulously, his whole body shaking. "The Commander didn't send me back…Tai Lung did."

I must have stopped breathing, because I felt suddenly very dizzy, gasping for air. I fought to keep myself standing.

"T-Tai Lung sent you…"

Zeng nodded fearfully. "He…he said to tell you 'the real Dragon Warrior is coming home'."

* * *

I had not run that fast in years. Oogway had told me that if we ever needed to talk I knew where to find him. And find him I did. I charged up the slope to the Sacred Peach Tree, where he was practicing tai chi.

"Master! Master!" I called. When I finally got up there, I panted breathlessly, "Master I…its very bad news."

"Ah, Shifu," he said knowingly. "There is only news. There is no good or bad…"

He had said this before Yeying and I had been married. At that time, everything had turned out alright, but that wasn't enough to calm my fears.

"Master, Tai Lung has broken out of prison! He's on his way!"

He actually looked stunned. He was speechless, completely taken aback. "Well, that is bad news…" then he smiled, "if you believe the Dragon Warrior can not stop him."

He had to be kidding… "The _panda_?! Master, he wasn't even meant to be here! It was just an accident!"

"There are no accidents."

I sighed, turning away. "Yes, I know. You've said that already. Twice."

"Well," he said with a chuckle, "That was no accident either."

I held up three fingers, "Thrice."

"Old friend," he said, stepping forward, "The panda will not realize his destiny—nor you, yours—until you get rid of this illusion of control."

"…Illusion?" I asked.

"Yes," he said simply, and began a parable, "Look at this tree. I can not make it blossom when I please, or make it bear fruit before its time."

Stubborn as I had always been, I challenged him. "But there are things we can control…" I swiftly side-kicked the trunk, causing all the peaches to fall with soft plops to the ground, "I can control when the fruit will fall…" I picked up a peach, tossed it high into the air, jumped and sliced it in half with a hand chop.

"I can control where to plant the seed!" I punched a whole in the ground and straightened to catch the peach pit in one hand. I threw it angrily into the hole I had made and stood back, challenging him again. "That is no illusion, Master!"

"Yes, but that seed will become a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach."

"But a _peach_ cannot defeat Tai Lung! Master…I need your help…" I begged. How curious, that each time I came to speak with him here, it had always been because I needed guidance. I hoped he would tell me, provide the necessary wisdom I would need to purge this danger, to deflect this horrible fate…

"No, my friend," he shook his head. "You just need to believe." He allowed this to sink in before saying, "Promise me, Shifu, promise me you will believe."

I wanted to believe, I truly did. I didn't think I had the capacity for it. Having hope was for the young; I was too old to hold out hope any longer. But somehow…Oogway managed to defy that belief. When was one too old to stop believing? He was over a thousand years old, and never ceased believing, never ceased hoping, never lost his faith. He had lived ten centuries, I had only lived three-quarters of a century. Of all the misfortunes I had faced…they must have been paltry compared to those he must have loved and lost over the past thousand years. How many friends had he lost? How many hundreds of thousands of students had he watched die, old and young alike? Had he ever loved, and lost? These things I never knew, never thought, nor never cared, to ask. But it was too late for me to do so now.

"I…will try," I promised him. I owed him that much. He had done so much for me, for saving my life countless times from the time I was four until that fateful night, as we stood under the peach blossoms and discussed the valley's future, and the Dragon Warrior. I expected him to tell me "do, or do not, there is no try", but he didn't. He only nodded and smiled.

"Good." He lifted his head as a soft breeze began tearing peach blossoms off the tree, the pink petals dancing in the air. My master took a deep breath. "My time has come…" he turned and handed me his staff.

"You must continue your journey without me."

"W-what?" I was caught completely off-guard, watching in confusion as he slowly walked to the edge of the precipice. I panicked, thinking he was going to jump…"Master! Master, wait! You can't leave me!" I begged, pleaded with him to come back, to stop, to come away from the edge of the cliff...

Instead, I watched, marveling at the peach blossoms as they flew about, then swirled around his form, enveloping him. He turned back to me, smiling beatifically, and bowed to me in respect. I couldn't remember the last time he had done that. All of a sudden, the vibrant jade green of his skin drained, to be replaced by an ethereal light as pale as the moon. While his body now became ghostly white, I did not fear it, for while he had abandoned his earthly form…those soft green eyes were the same as I had known them the day we met, sixty-five years before.

"You must…believe…" he said with finality, bowing and closing his eyes, a peaceful smile on his face.

Then he was gone.

He disappeared into the soft pink cloud of petals, and floated up, up, up towards heaven, the petals blending in with the myriad stars dotting the night sky until one by one, they were gone. I could do little more than helplessly watch, completely devastated. There had been no warning…or had there been? Had Oogway been planning this all along, or had he made it up as he went? Had he been giving me signals that his time was coming, and I had been too selfish or stubborn to notice?

It was so sudden, and yet quietly beautiful, the dignity with which he ascended to the next life. It was fitting, for such a man as Oogway to peacefully pass on that way, surrounded by the very symbol of peace and wisdom, and in the company of his most favored tree…

But as for me, I was unworthy. I had failed him so many times; I was not worthy to hold his peach wood staff in my hands, to claim his title. Yet here I was. He had passed on the torch to me, because there was no one else. I had no time to mourn, no time to be bitter, no time to go through all the stages of grieving.

Tai Lung was coming.

And I needed to stop him, or die trying.

* * *

God, who knew that writing a novelization of the movie from Shifu's POV would be such a bear? I originally intended for this to be in one complete chapter…yeah, that's not happening. You'll get an extra two chapters out of this, so congratulations, y'all!


	23. Chapter 23

Author's note: Thanks so much, everyone, for your continuing support. I apologize for not updating last weekend, but current events—in national news and in my personal life—have been getting me down. I won't go into detail, but there are quite a few things I'm worried about, and many more things that have depressed me. I'm getting through it, one step at a time, but just so you know, real life events take precedence over writing, in many cases. To all my fans: Thank you. A review is usually just enough to make me smile, and it keeps me going. I can't say it enough: Thank you.

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

Chapter 23

* * *

Tigress, initially, was already regretting her offer to read this particular scroll. True, she expected Shifu to not be kind in his description of the Dragon Warrior, but she had never expected him to completely _despise_ the panda. As abhorrent as his behavior—and his language—had been, Tigress had to admit…she hadn't behaved much better. Shifu had been right; she had completely despised the panda, and maybe—maybe—would have seriously injured him, just to be rid of him.

That anger now terrified her; she had never been so angry, but at the time she had put it as righteous indignation. Was she not perfectly reasonable in her distress and disappointment? It had gone without saying, and her friends had agreed, she was a shoe-in for the title…until Po showed up.

But it was the things she thought of him, the way she felt, hell, the things she _said_ to him that made her cringe now.

_You don't belong at the Jade Palace. You are a disgrace to kung fu, and if you have any respect for who we are, and what we do, you will be gone by morning._

She had slammed the door in his face immediately after she had said this, tried to discourage him. She was bitter, devastated, had seen the Dragon Scroll as the only means to earn Shifu's love and acceptance. Before reading these scrolls, she had thought he despised her, thought her a failure, and that the only way to get what she wanted was to give him what he wanted. And Po had taken that from her. At the time, she should have been appalled by her actions…and she most certainly was now.

Po had been strangely silent the whole time, ever since he showed up in Shifu's narrative. It didn't take a genius to see he was completely distraught by how little esteem their master had in him…but that had changed, somehow. So that meant _something_, right?

But Shifu's behavior, his words, and his feelings about the panda shocked her, and everyone else currently at that table. Mostly his language, but what shocked her most was that some, if not most, of his ire was concentrated by Po's…attention to her.

Tigress wasn't sure what surprised her more: the red panda's over-protectiveness…or the fact that Po, apparently, had always admired her…

* * *

I don't know how long I stood under the peach tree, weakly holding the staff in my hands. It could have been mere minutes, it could have been an hour. I was dazed, stunned, and heartbroken. I had wanted to hold out my hands to him, beg him to come back…but what would that have accomplished? Oogway had been over 1000 years old—a millennium—it would have been selfish of me to want him to stay.

But selfish I was. I didn't mind that he chose to ascend, but, I thought bitterly, _Why now? Why, when we're facing the greatest threat ever faced—a threat __**I**__ created—did you have to choose to die? Couldn't you have waited until after Tai Lung was defeated?_

He had wanted me to believe. He wanted me to believe not just in myself, not just in the panda…he wanted me to believe in miracles.

I had suffered depression for too long; miracles, I thought, were fantasy. They simply didn't exist. Yet now, ironically, a miracle was exactly what I—what we—needed.

I left the promontory and made my way to the dormitory. My students would have retired to bed by now, but I did not find them there. Instead, I heard noise coming from the kitchen, the gentle hushed tones of the Five, and the Panda's louder, more obnoxious voice telling some sort of tale. I could hear him from outside the brightly lit kitchen window, boasting of how he (almost) told off the "scariest bandit in the Hajin province" for leaving a bad tip. Utterly ludicrous; everyone knows that people from that province are lousy tippers.

As I got closer, I heard something that…I had not heard for a long time. And the minute I heard it, it made my heart constrict.

It was laughter.

Lighthearted laughter, like the kind my friends and I had shared. As much as I yearned to once again be a part of something like that, I was also angry. Did they not know what danger they were in? I'm sure the Five knew…and they were acting like it wasn't a problem.

Perhaps I needed to teach them that lesson the hard way.

I rounded the corner and heard the laughter subside, and Mantis' voice saying my name. Immediately after, a chair scrapped against the floor, and I heard someone…mimicking me. My building anger was enflamed when I recognized the voice as belonging to the Panda.

"You will never be the _Dragon Warrior_…unless you _lose_ five hundred pounds, and _brush_ your _teeth_!"

…I did not talk like that.

No, seriously, I do _not_ talk like that.

…Do I?

I rounded the corner and saw the panda on his knees, pointing a pair of chopsticks at my students like I had pointed my flute during training. They all—with the exception of Tigress, who looked like she wanted to reprimand them—were laughing at the panda's clowning around.

The fool playfully scolded my students, "What is that _noise_ you're making? _Laughter_? I've never _heard_ of it! Work hard, Panda, and _someday_," he grabbed two bowls from the table and held them up to his head, "you will have _ears_ like _mine_!"

Monkey's and Mantis' laughs were the loudest by far, which made the silence that much more oppressive when they spotted me in the doorway…and promptly shut their traps.

"_Ears_!" the panda repeated. "Not workin' for ya? I thought they were pretty good."

"It's Shifu!" Monkey hissed in warning.

"Of course it's Shifu, whad'ya think I'm doin'?" he grinned.

Five pairs of eyes slid from him, to me, then back to him, and back to me. The panda got the nonverbal communication, looked over his shoulder…and jumped.

"Oh! Master Shifu!" The bowls came down from his ears and pressed against his chest—"moobs" I think Mantis called them, whatever _that_ means—and the bowls stuck there in place. This earned more laughter from the table.

I saw the noodle dangling from his upper lip, hanging from his lip like my whiskers hung from mine…but he slurped it away as I began to berate all six of them.

"You think this is _funny_?!" I snapped. "Tai Lung has escaped from prison, and you are acting like _children_!"

"…What?" the panda asked, completely surprised.

"He is coming for the Dragon Scroll," I looked right at him, "And you are the _only_ one who can stop him!"

…and as if on cue, the bowls fell from his chest and clattered to the floor. He recovered from his shock and embarrassment, and chuckled, "And here I am saying you don't have a sense of humor…"

He trailed off when I glared at him. I was as serious as a heart attack, and it was time for the fun and games to stop. Shock and awe overcame him.

"What, you're _serious_?! And I have to, uh…um…Master Oogway!" he proclaimed. "Master Oogway will stop him! He did it before, he'll do it again!"

"Oogway can _not_," I snapped, tapping the staff on the floor for emphasis. I sighed and looked at the staff in my hand, "…not anymore."

My students gasped in distress; but this wasn't the time for mourning. We needed to get things ready, to ready ourselves for battle.

"Our only hope…is the Dragon Warrior," I said quietly.

"The _panda_?" Tigress sneered.

"_Yes_ the panda!" I glared back at her.

She stood abruptly, impatiently pleading for common sense's sake, "Master, _please_! Let _us_ stop Tai Lung, this is what you _trained_ us for!"

I wanted to give in to her request, I truly did…but my feelings as a father overruled my feelings as her master. I knew what Tai Lung was capable of, and if he still desired the scroll enough to kill for it…well, I was still angry enough at the panda that I had no problem seeing him fall, so long as my daughter was safe

I had lost my wife, my friends, and my son. I was not going to lose my daughter. So I refused,

"_No_! It is not _your_ destiny to defeat Tai Lung! It is _his_!" I pointed my staff at the panda…

…or the spot he had occupied just a second before.

"…Where'd he go?"

* * *

Tigress pursed her lips, glancing up at Po, who sported an unreadable expression. The rest of the Five were prudently panda looked up at her when she paused.

She winced, thought how to say it, then finally opened her mouth:

"Po, listen…"

"Don't bother," he said sullenly. "I knew he didn't like me…but he hated me enough for me to be a sacrifice for the cause."

"We didn't know…_I_ didn't know," she said quietly. "I mean, yes, we knew he didn't really like you…but _something_ changed, didn't it?"

"I know its tough," Mantis said, landing on the panda's shoulder, "But try not to take it personally. I mean, he's probably just venting here. You know how people, when they hold stuff in, then let it all out at once, that they say things they didn't mean, and regret it later?"

"He seems heartless," Viper nodded, "But Tigress is right. He did eventually change his mind…"

"But when? And _how_?" Po glared at the floor.

Tigress sighed, truly feeling sorry for him. She was strangely touched that her master had refused her, not because of insubordination, but to protect her…but that didn't excuse him of his ill-treatment of the chosen Dragon Warrior. Keeping this in mind, she cleared her throat and continued. Immediately, she recognized this next scene; she had witnessed the entire thing, and now, could play it over in her mind one more time…

* * *

As it turned out, he had slipped past me—how, with his bulk and his weight, I have no clue. But within minutes he was bolting right for the exit, screaming in terror (considering the circumstances, and just what he would be up against…I can't say I blame him).

I gave chase, and landed right in front of him, immediately halting his flight at the top of the stairs leading to the Arena, and the gates. "You cannot leave!" I ordered, reminding him, "A _real_ warrior never quits!"

"_Watch_ me!" he challenged. He tried to get around me, to make it down the steps and get away from the fate that would ultimately be his undoing…and demise. But I wasn't about to quit. I used my master's staff and swung him back around, knocking him on his backside.

"Come _on_," he argued. "How am I supposed to beat Tai Lung? I can't even beat _you_ to the stairs!"

"You will beat him because you are the Dragon Warrior!" I stated, prodding him in the stomach to emphasize my point.

"You don't believe that!" he accused me with a wince. "You _never_ believed that! Ever since I got here, you've been trying to get rid of me!"

He tried to get around me again; I stopped his progress by knocking him off his feet.

"Yes, I _was_! But now I ask you to trust in your master as I have come to trust in mine!"

"You're _not_ my master," he glared at me, "and I'm not the Dragon Warrior."

"Then why didn't you _quit_? You knew I was trying to get rid of you, but you stayed!"

"Yeah, I stayed," he said, picking himself up. "I stayed…because every time you threw a brick at my head, or told me I smelled, it _hurt_…but it could never hurt as much as _just being me_. I stayed, because I thought, if anyone could change me, could make me…_not_ me, it was _you_, the greatest kung fu teacher in China!"

"But I _can_ change you, and I _will_!"

He laughed, "Come on! Tai Lung is on his way right now, and even if it takes him a hundred years to get here, how can you change _this_…" he pointed at his body, "into the Dragon Warrior? Huh?"

He was right. It was, at best, a week's journey from Chorh-Gom. Tai Lung had a day's head start by now, and he didn't travel slowly.

But at that moment, the panda stopped being merely "Panda" to me…for the first time, I was seeing him as Po, Po Ping, the son of a humble noodle maker. I saw all the insecurity, the yearning to be something more than he was…and I recognized it.

"How?" he asked me.

Looking back at him for a moment, meeting his green eyes, and was floored by what I saw. I might as well have been looking in a mirror. His whole life he had second-guessed himself, doubted in his own abilities…just as I had. I _still_ doubted myself, even into my seventh decade of life. He and I…we weren't so different at all.

"How?" he pleaded.

How indeed? I couldn't go to Master Oogway now. Years ago, when I had lost my wife, and my friends had left, I thought I had lost everything. I truly hadn't. I had Tai Lung for twenty years, then the Furious Five after him, and Master Oogway had always been there. Now, he wasn't. This time, I was truly alone…and I had no idea what to do.

"HOW?" he demanded.

"I DON'T KNOW!" I yelled back. I took a deep breath and stared at my feet. "…I don't know."

* * *

Crane smirked, "I knew it."

"Knew what?" Po asked.

"I _knew_ he saw something in you, he had to. And it all makes sense now…" the bird looked at him. "The reason he started to get along with you…was because he saw himself in you. You're kindred spirits, and understand each other."

"That's not true," Po sighed. "I didn't understand _him_."

"Well," Tigress sighed, "We all do now."

* * *

I had left Po to his own devices. I needed time to think. I knew I wouldn't be able to meditate, no matter where I sat. I ended up going to the bunkhouse, hoping that maybe I could attempt to get some sleep. At the very least, perhaps something in my treasury of keepsakes would give me the answer I sought. But I was shocked to find the dormitory empty. At this time of night, the Furious Five would have already been abed, or preparing for the next day's training.

Their rooms were all empty.

At least Crane had the courtesy to leave a hurried note.

_Master Shifu,_

_Tigress has left the Jade Palace. We're going after her. We'll try to buy you time._

_Signed,_

_Mantis, Monkey, Viper, and Crane_

_PS: when we get back, please don't kill us._

I recognized the first postscript as Mantis' handwriting. I paid special attention to the language: _when_ we get back. Not _if_. Bless him; bless all of them for holding onto hope in the darkest of nights. I could argue that Tigress was in big trouble for this, and I should have been angry…but how could I?

There was a second postscript, in Viper's hand—er, coil writing:

_PPS: remember, you __did__ teach us to act first and beg for mercy later._

So true. The final postscript was in Monkey's writing:

_PPPS: Also, you never said where in the book it said we __can't__._

I had taught my students well. Perhaps I had taught them _too_ well…or at least made them too much like me.

I had done the same exact thing. Tai Lung had done the same thing. Only this time, Tigress wasn't alone. And all five of them would be facing the greatest threat China had ever seen. I was more worried than angry. As a matter of fact, I was terrified of losing them. It hurt to think of my son as a murderer…but that was why he had been put away. He could—and probably would—kill them. And it pained me to think that the only way to defeat him was to kill him…and that Tigress would likely be the one to do it.

Now my soul was in greater turmoil than my mind. I could find no rest. I returned to the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom and sat on a rock overlooking the valley below. The branches above me were barren, dead, gone, like my master. I wanted to cry, but couldn't. What was the point? I was old, reached the end of my days; there were no more tears to cry.

I stayed up there until the sun rose. A red dawn, I remembered. Many years before, Jian Ren had told me a saying he'd heard from a naval officer friend at court: "Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in morning, sailor takes warning". He explained that a red dawn was almost always a sure sign of an impending storm.

He had no idea how poignant that saying was to me now.

My ear ticked when it picked up a faint sound. A soft "hiya", from below in the palace, now bathed in the red-gold light of the rising sun. Was the panda still here? He had no reason to be—there was nothing either of us could do; he might as well save himself before Tai Lung arrived.

I sighed and got up, leaning my master's staff against the peach tree; I might as well tell the fat fool to leave, because, as much as I disliked him before, I truly didn't want him to die. I saw too much of myself in him. That spark of innocence and youthful vigor had long ago died in me; it just wasn't fair for it to die in him, while he was still too young.

I made my way to the training hall first and pushed open the doors. It was dark, still, and silent, the Seven Swinging Clubs completely immobile, the Field of Fiery Death cold, the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors at rest.

I was confused; if he wasn't here, then just where the hell was he? I heard another "hiya" and looked over my shoulder. I could see movement in the dormitory…in the kitchen.

I made my way over, wondering just what in the world he was doing. As I padded my way closer to the kitchen I noticed the doors were hanging off their hinges.

_What the…?_

Po's excited and raucous shouts drew my attention, my curiosity piqued, and as I rounded the corner I saw the most astonishing thing.

He was practicing kung fu.

He was practicing it, as if he had been training for years. Those kicks were higher than I'm sure his body would have normally allowed. Backbends, three-step turns, hook kicks, uppercuts, straight punches, all executed _flawlessly_. But…how?

He stopped and turned sharply on his heel and slammed his fist through an inch-thick cabinet door…and pulled out a rice cracker. He stuffed it into his mouth, munching away contentedly, crumbs covering his lips and cheeks.

He noticed me and immediately ceased chewing with a guilty expression. I stared back at him in utter amazement, then scanned the kitchen. Kitchen cabinets were broken, some barely hanging by their rusted hinges. Baskets were overturned, hanging baskets overhead spilling their contents to the floor, and pottery was smashed…and all in his frantic pursuit of food.

He belched, forcing my attention back to him. He still stared, but then got defensive.

"What?" he challenged with a full mouth, wiping his lips with the back of his paw. "I eat when I'm upset, okay?"

I had a brain storm. The idea hit me so quickly, it nearly knocked me on my tail. I decided to test my theory.

"Oh, no need to explain. I just thought you might be Monkey. He hides his almond cookies on the top shelf."

I walked out, turning the corner…and hid myself against the wall, looking over my shoulder. I heard him gasp in delight, then gleefully rush to the far corner of the room. I rounded the corner just as I heard pots and pans clanking together and utensils hitting the floor…

He had done it. I had no idea _how_ he did it, given his size, but in one day, he had gone from being an embarrassment and a disgrace to balancing himself in a full side split, wedging himself between adjacent beams in the corner…and ten feet off the ground. He had his hand inside a porcelain cookie jar where Monkey kept his secret stash of his favorite indulgence. Po took out cookie after cookie, munching away contentedly on three…four…five…six cookies in a row.

I stepped into the kitchen, and as I gazed at him in wonder, I started to connect the dots. He would not have been able to do this before. He ate when he was upset, but that wasn't all. No matter how much he loved kung fu, he needed more motivation. He needed a reason, a reward for good work. I had never rewarded my students like he was rewarding himself right now. In my younger years, maybe I would have given them a pat on the back, but the panda needed more than that. He needed something tangible to focus on. He needed encouragement.

He needed…food.

He spotted me again and immediately stopped chewing, caught red-handed. A couple crumbs clattered to the floor.

"Don't tell Monkey," he begged.

* * *

"That was _you_?!" Monkey snapped. "_You're_ the one stealing my cookies?! I _knew_ it!"

Po cringed and drew back. "It's Shifu's fault! He pointed it out!"

"It's your _own_ fault," Tigress said sternly to Monkey. "You should have hidden them better…"

"But they're _my_ cookies!" the primate whined.

"Oh get over it. Po's not the only one who knows where they are…" the tiger said, picking up the last cookie off the plate and taking a huge bite out of it. She gave the simian a smug look, crumbs on her whiskers. "And Po's not the only one who takes advantage of that."

* * *

"Look at you…" I gasped, staring up at him.

"Yeah, I know, I disgust you," he said painfully, dismissively, as he reached for another cookie.

"No, I mean…how did you get up there?" I asked.

He paused, thinking it over. Did he not know how he did it? Which meant…this was second nature. It had to be. He had done something extraordinary without even thinking about it. It was…extraordinary.

"I dunno," he said finally, popping the cookie into his mouth. "I'm just gettin' a cookie."

"And yet you are ten feet off the ground…and have done a perfect split!"

"What, _this_?" he shrugged. "This is just a…accident…" he managed to say just as the beams gave way under him and he came crashing to the floor. An almond cookie rolled on the floor towards me and I picked it up, staring at it.

_This_ was the answer. He had asked me just hours before how I was going to get through to him…and I was holding it in my hand.

I smiled, "There _are_ no accidents." This was what I needed to see. There was still a chance…a slim chance, but a chance nonetheless! I knew what I needed to do. Training him in the Jade Palace would have gotten us nowhere. We needed to get out, a change of scenery. And I knew just where to go.

* * *

Before we left, I had taken my master's staff to the Sacred Hall of Warriors. I left it on a stand directly below a painting of Master Oogway; it had been prepared a many years before, a gift from Master Snow Hare, before he had passed. The servants had already lit candles in remembrance, and this was where I found Zeng paying his respects.

The goose turned to me and sighed sorrowfully.

"This is my fault," he said.

"Oogway was old, very old," I explained.

"Not that," he shook. "My dad told me about the restraints that Tai Lung had been put in, how nothing larger than a quill would ever be able to open the lock…well, um, you see, I've been molting lately…"

I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose, then looked up at my master's portrait.

_One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it._

I had brought this on myself. Zeng likely had molted a feather—I wouldn't have put it past Tai Lung to use it to pick the lock. It was as if Oogway had known how it would happen. Yet he had seemed surprised Tai Lung had actually escaped. Perhaps the future—and our individual destinies—truly were not set in stone. Perhaps…we decided our own future.

"No, Zeng, it was not your fault. Tai Lung is more astute than anyone ever gave him credit. I'm supposing Vachir never believed he could escape?"

Zeng pursed his beak closed, looking like he was debating whether to tell me something potentially damaging.

"Zeng, whatever you have to tell me, just say it now."

"Um…" he paused. "Well…you see…" he gulped. "I think Vachir may have…tortured him."

This didn't hit me as hard as it should have, yet I felt my throat constrict, as well as my heart. I knew Vachir could never forgive my student's actions, but it never occurred to me that he would go that far. "You witnessed the escape, didn't you? How violent was he? And is Vachir dead?"

"It was…it was very violent, yes," he said tentatively. "And as for the Commander, I don't know. I didn't stick around long enough to find out." After another pause he asked, "How soon will he be here?"

"A week, at the most. It's a long way from Chorh-Gom. _You_ might be able to make it in a day, but you have the winds to your advantage." I paused, then laid my hand on his shoulder. "Do not blame yourself. You are a good and loyal person, just as your father was, and your grandfather, bless his soul. I _should_ be furious, I know…but if this was meant to be, then so be it."

This didn't seem to console him. The looming threat was probably holding his attention. "H-how long will you be gone, sir?"

"Three, maybe four days, give or take. Keep the Palace on high alert, and send scouts to wait for him. If he arrives sooner than expected, before my return, raise the alarm and evacuate. Zeng…that is only as a last resort. Do you understand?"

He nodded.

"Good." I turned to leave. "Zeng, I wish you luck."

"You too, Master Shifu," he said with perfect solemnity. "You'll need it."

* * *

It was a long hike, and rough on my injured leg, but I had learned to live with the limp. That limp was the main reason I didn't travel much anymore, but in this case, I could ignore the injury—I would have to. We didn't leave the valley, but by the time we reached our destination in the mountains, the village and the Jade Palace was long out of sight.

I instructed Po to bring cooking utensils, enough food for a week, two bedrolls, two blankets, and the clothes we were wearing.

Our journey took us about ten miles or so, to Mount Wudan. I had not been there in years, and I was amazed how very little had changed. The last time I had been there, I had been with the Five for numerous training courses. Before the Five…well, Tai Lung had taken many trips with Master Oogway, but during Tai Lung's training, the only time I had been there was with Yeying.

Po huffed and puffed behind me, pausing every so often to adjust the pack on his shoulders. It was near noon when we finally arrived; it had been slow going, not just because of his level of fitness, but also my limp. But when we finally arrived, I let out a breath and settled myself down by a pool. I needed to find my center, calm myself…and catch my breath. When had I gotten so old that a ten-mile hike would have winded me so?

He collapsed on the ground next to me and crawled to the pool, panting, "You brought me up here…for a bath?" regardless of his fatigue, he bent down to take a drink and splash water over himself.

_Control your temper_, I told myself. _He doesn't know. be gentle with this one._

"Panda," I sternly replied, "We do not wash our pits in the Pool of Sacred Tears."

"Wha…?" he shook water from his hand and lowered his arm guiltily. I stood and explained, "This is where Oogway unraveled the mystery of harmony and focus. This…is the birthplace of kung fu."

As soon as I spoke these words, the sun peeked out between the sugarloaf mountains, bathing the training fields in golden light. In this light, I could practically see Oogway demonstrating the craft, as he had done when my friends and I were still students; we had watched in awe as he performed such impressive feats, and it inspired us to be something more, to be something better.

And so help me, I would do the same for the panda. I leapt up onto a large boulder, making more of a show than was needed, but it got his undivided attention. When I landed, I pointed down at him,

"Do you want to learn kung fu?!"

"Yeah…" he said breathlessly.

I felt my chest swelling with pride as I proclaimed, "Then I _am_ your master!"

"Okay!" he said, his voice breaking with emotion.

"Don't cry," I told him.

"Okay."

* * *

We had set camp, and now it was time for me to give him the formal—the real—introduction to kung fu, and also, lay out my lesson plan for his crash course. I had four days to train him to take on Tai Lung…

I had to be out of my mind.

He stood to attention, eagerly awaiting my speech. I cleared my throat,

"When you focus on kung fu," I started, "When you concentrate…" I paused, "…you suck."

He frowned.

"But perhaps that is my fault," I admitted. "I cannot train you the way I have trained the Five. Now, I see the way to get through to you…is with this." I pulled out a bowl of dumplings, a favorite treat of mine, and, I assumed, something he'd enjoy as well.

He grinned, "Great, 'cause I'm hungry!"

I chuckled, pulling the bowl out of his reach, "Good, when you are finished training, you may eat." I popped a dumpling into my mouth and made a show of chewing, just to get him riled up…though I couldn't deny having an exquisite pleasure at the taste. Chewing, I started to walk away.

"Let's begin, shall we?"

* * *

I started as I always had, with every student I have ever trained, with stretching and flexibility exercises. I taught him the basics of tai chi, the proper way to stretch for splits and straddles, to stretch his arms, shoulders, back, to make him as limber as possible. I know it take years to become very flexible, and as a panda, he was most certainly not naturally inclined to the same flexibility as a feline, or even some canines, but he did some things that surprised, and even delighted me. It took years to perfect…but he had three days at the most to prepare for fighting Tai Lung. Po needed all the help he could get.

I prompted him to do two hundred sit-ups with a bowl of crab wontons as a temptation…

* * *

"Two _hundred_?!" Tigress gasped. "You didn't actually do it, did you?"

Po looked guilty, "But…it was crab wontons…"

"You tortured yourself for _crab wontons_?" she asked him incredulously.

"Technically, Shifu was the one torturing me…"

"Still," she stared at him. "I love crab wontons too, but I'm not going to _kill_ myself for them!"

"They were really, _really_ good crab wontons," he pointed out as she rolled her eyes. "But it gets better…"

* * *

The first day, I took it easy on him:

I had him hang from a tree branch by his knees and do yet more sit ups…with dumplings urging him along (the tree branch couldn't support his weight, however. He bounced back surprisingly quickly from that fall).

In one exercise, I handed him a bowl, enticing him to eat. He threw away the chopsticks, instead opting to just dump the bowl's contents into his mouth. I wasn't going to make it that easy. I came at him with a bamboo staff, forcing him to protect the bowl at all costs. While I got a few hits in, he managed to block with his free arm and legs…but not fast enough for me to knock the bowl out of his hand. This was to teach him to expect anything, and be prepared for anything.

Near sunset, I played a simple game of Keep-Away with a dumpling, just as my brothers had done to me, with a ball, when we were children. It hadn't occurred to me until I was training Po that that cruel practice of older brothers torturing the younger was the key to my early agility, and my destiny.

At twilight, he did two hundred push-ups, whilst trying to eat straight from a bowl below his face…and a pile of hot, burning coals beneath his large belly. If he was going to do push-ups the right way, this was the only way to learn. He couldn't let his belly touch the ground—it's a well-known fact that push-ups are not as effective if one lowers oneself completely to the ground; it is not as easy, nor does it yield the best results. The coals may have been cruel, but honestly…I felt more sympathetic because he couldn't eat the stir-fried vegetables.

He went to bed hungry, tired, and sore, with bruises, cuts, burns (on his belly, mostly), and a twisted ankle. He was also quite sunburned; he was clearly a creature that didn't get out into the sun much, though I'm not one to talk. The end of that first day, I'm sure he wondered why on earth he ever wanted to be a kung fu master. I was wondering the same. What perplexed me most, however, was how I felt so guilty about going to bed full and content, whilst my rotund student's stomach growled long into the night.

* * *

"I thought you said it would get better?" Tigress eyed the panda.

"It _does_, just be patient…what?" he asked.

"You? You've got some nerve telling me to be patient!" she snapped, but there was a slight upward curl in her lip, betraying that she was actually teasing him.

"Ahem, Tigress…" Viper gently reminded.

"Alright, alright, I'm reading…"

* * *

The end of that first day of training, I sat up by the fire, unable to sleep. Wudan Mountain had always brought me some peace, having brought the Five there for their training. I could see the memories all around. That bamboo forest was where Monkey perfected his acrobatics, and Crane his deflective flights. That rock quarry was where Tigress first crushed a boulder with her bare fists. That lily pad pond was where Viper learned to step, er, slither lightly enough that no opponent could hear her. And Mantis perfected the Swallowtail technique over in that thicket…

The panda was sleeping—and snoring—not too far away. I truly had exhausted him, but so help me—and him—I was going to make the next few days very unwelcome for him. Perhaps I was being too harsh, as I had usually been, but that first day brought me a great many revelations.

The first: my first impressions of the panda were wrong, dead wrong. He may not have been a kung fu practitioner by way of smashing boulders or cracking boards, but his knowledge of its philosophy and the "excellence of self" mantra was more than just a novelty to him: he _lived_ it, in a way that no one I knew had ever lived it, except for Oogway. I realized that my learning kung fu had nothing to do with making myself better for my own sake; I had always done it for someone else.

As I stared into the dying flames, I realized something else. Tai Lung had never learned kung fu for bettering himself; he learned it because he wanted to protect me, and eventually protect the valley. And Tigress…she did it because she was told to.

That was why none of my students had been named the Dragon Warrior. Not a single one of them had been in it for the "excellence of self". They had not learned kung fu purely for the sake of learning. They learned it because, for varying reasons, they had to.

The panda—Po—_wanted_ to learn. He had never been a kung fu warrior before now, though he had wanted to be. But he thought he wasn't cut out for it. Even though, as the Dragon Warrior, he had this chance to live his dream, I still saw it in his eyes that he didn't truly believe he was the chosen one. But that was my fault. I didn't believe in him. He was my student, and I didn't believe in him.

_It could never hurt as much as just being me. I stayed because I thought if anyone could change me, could make me __**not**__ me, it was __**you**__._

Po was the only student I had ever had that wanted to learn kung fu to better himself, to become something more, to transcend what he had been born as.

For the first time since he came to the Jade Palace, I finally understood why Oogway had chosen him, and I realized how foolish I had been. The Dragon Warrior had to be humble, and to have no physical desires…I thought that meant abstaining from all "evils" of society and living a monk's life, but no. The panda had never desired the Dragon Scroll for himself. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time. His upbringing as a peasant—a noodle chef, at that—kept him humble.

None of my students had ever been truly humble. Tai Lung had believed he was better than he was. Tigress believed, I'm sure, that she deserved something more than what she was given. Po…didn't. He didn't think he deserved anything but to go back to make noodles for the rest of his simple life. Here he was living his dream, but still thought of it as just that: a dream. Though these incredible opportunities had fallen at his feet, he didn't seek to take up on the offers of honor and glory. All of it seemed above him, overwhelming his simplistic plebian philosophies; while I and all my students before him would have basked in the glory…he didn't want it. The more I thought about it, the more I was certain he was the Dragon Warrior.

Now, I just needed to prove it to him.

* * *

Day Two.

We rose before dawn. I ordered a breakfast of noodle soup (his specialty, and damn was it good). I filled three bowls, and the two of us climbed to the tops of great stone spires. At one time, I assume, a thousand years ago or more, they had once been a part of a major structure, whose import was lost to the ages. For us, it served as a place where Po balanced a bowl of scalding hot noodle soup atop his head, and held one apiece in his two palms. I instructed him to stretch and move, without spilling a single drop.

By lunch, we had gone back to our stealth exercises, and perfected that during throughout the day. Amazingly, he had gone from lumbering footsteps that could be heard a mile away to tiptoes so quiet, even I barely heard them. That didn't stop me from keeping him away from the soup. I came at him with my staff, oh, I can't remember how many times. Each time he tried, though, he got much better, and it got much harder for me to catch him.

We finished that day with katas. He, amazingly, perfected the beginner's forms, then begged me to teach him the intermediate levels, which he executed with some difficulty. Yet despite the difficulty, it was that spirit, that tenacity, that gave me hope as the second day came to a close.

* * *

Day three.

More stretching, more tai chi, more strength training. He had learned to do push-ups with just one finger in three days. After the morning, we resorted to sparring, which, honestly, was just me hitting him numerous times with my staff. But to my amazement, he not only blocked each strike, he even went above and beyond, even managing to strike back!

Too soon, and with few breaks, he was side-stepping, punching, kicking, blocking, trying to knock the staff from my grip…and flipping over my head! Just like I had done during almost every single fight I had ever been a part of, this giant panda now—by the grace of the gods—had near the same agility as I did!

It was unprecedented, it was marvelous, it was…I still can not find the words to convey it. Perhaps Oogway had a very good point to believe in miracles. It was something that one needs to see to believe.

And I was beginning to believe—for the first time in years—that miracles can, and do, happen.

* * *

By the fourth morning, I was surprised to find Po already awake and cooking. I had made the past three days an absolute hell for him. At least, I imagined they had been hell, because, frankly, I had to be out of my mind to even consider someone learning to do all the things he had learned in just three days. Tai Lung, when hit with a particularly challenging scroll, may have taken a few days to perfect it, but Po had learned all the basics—_all_ the basics—in the same time frame.

And the panda's training was around the clock. I think the two of us only got 6 hours of sleep in three days, if that. I imagine, if Tigress ever knew just how bad the poor ursine bastard had it, she might not hate him anymore—I'm hoping she'd pity him.

But here we were, four days after we had arrived on Wudan Mountain, and I lay there, awake, gathering my thoughts. We had accomplished so much in so little time; I knew he was nowhere near Tai Lung's expertise, but the panda had something that Tai Lung didn't…yet I had no clue what it was. Yet.

The panda stirred the _congee_, adding a little more kindling to the cooking fire to heat it just so. I suspect he hoped to help himself to some food while I was still asleep, but my hearing picked up on his every move; aside from that, there was no way he could hide the delicious smell of _congee_ cooking.

I cracked open one eye and watched as he glanced over at me, then quietly, slowly, picked up a bowl and started to serve himself. When he seemed certain I wasn't awake, he lifted his spoon and prepared to take a bite.

"I'll give you credit for trying," I said, shocking him. He groaned and handed me a bowl with a sigh.

"No eating until I've been trained, I know…"

I sat up and accepted the breakfast. His stomach growled loudly, and wincing, he placed his large paw over his paunch. "Sorry…"

"Quite alright." I paused long enough to consider, then I handed the bowl back to him. "Eat."

"But, I'm not supposed to…"

"Just three bites. You'll need something on your stomach. I put you through a lot the past few days, and you performed better than I expected you to. You deserve at _least_ three bites."

He looked a little unsure, even suspicious, but took the bowl anyway. Lifting a spoon, he took three quick, large bites before handing it back to me. "Fast enough for ya?"

"Its tolerable." I started eating as he prepared the food that would be used for the training that day. Midway through breaking my fast, I cleared my throat and finally asked him, "Where did you learn to cook? Your mother, father?"

Po shook his head. "Learned from Dad; I don't remember my mom. We're noodle folk, y'know. Heh, kinda surprising, isn't it, a noodle chef being the Dragon Warrior?"

"Not as surprising as a rice farmer's son being one of the greatest kung fu masters in recent history."

That was the first time I ever revealed a part of my personal life to any student. I don't know if Po truly knew the significance of it, but he did seem to consider this with a lot of weight.

"Your family was rice farmers?" he asked quietly.

"Many years ago; water under a bridge," I said, not wanting to fully divulge everything. "I was the youngest of three sons."

"Pfft, lucky. I wish I had siblings…"

_Me too_, I thought sorrowfully.

"Do you miss them?" He must have guessed I was the only one still living—not surprising, since now most men were lucky to live past fifty or sixty.

"Yes. But enough about the past," I said, standing and brushing myself off. "Make dumplings, lots of them. I will go meditate while you cook…"

* * *

Later, about noon, we were sitting opposite each other, using a flat rock as a table. Po had set out three bowls of perfect dumplings, each as round as a full moon, stuffed with only the freshest ingredients. This would be a feast, but, I was not eating alone.

"After you, panda."

He looked astonished for a moment, then suspicious, "Wait, is that _it_? No push ups? No ten mile hike?"

"I have vowed to train you, and you have been trained. You are free to eat." I picked up my chopsticks and motioned to his bowl, inviting him to sit. He eyed me warily, as if on to my plan, but sat anyway, picking up his own chopsticks. He plucked up the first dumpling and paused, as if waiting for my attack.

I tried to keep the smirk off my face: "Enjoy."

He smiled, and opened his mouth.

I struck, grabbing the dumpling from his chopsticks with my own, and plopped into my mouth before he even realized I had moved. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"I said, you are free to eat; have a dumpling."

He reached for another; I stole it from him again. His glare darkened; clearly, if there was one thing that angered this panda, it was when someone came between him and a satisfying meal.

"I said, you are free to eat," I repeated through gritted teeth.

"Am I?!"

"ARE YOU?!"

He slammed his fist down onto the rock, jolting the bowl and sending it flying into the air. I jumped, grabbing dumpling after dumpling until there was only one left for us to fight for. He leapt high, intending to just grab the last dumpling with his mouth. I rushed past, grabbing it between my chopsticks. He landed with a thump, and I smirked down at him, tauntingly holding the dumpling between the chopsticks.

He jumped right back up, grabbing for the ball, which had fallen into one of the bowls. With our chopsticks, we fought for control, each trying to subdue the other with two thin sticks and our fingers. I wasn't going to make this easy for him; if he wanted that dumpling, he would have to earn it.

I turned the bowl over, disguising it amongst the other two, and juggled them around, hoping to throw him off of finding the bowl with the dumpling. He took the chance, letting out a joyful exultation when he won. I took the dumpling back, he smacked it out of my hand. It went flying off to the side; he kicked it up to grab it. I threw one of my chopsticks, skewering the dumpling and lodging it into a low-hanging tree branch.

He moved to get it. I jumped up, ran up his back and pushed myself off his head to get at it, but he grabbed my ankle between his chopsticks and threw me down to the ground. I recovered and saw the dumpling sliding down off the chopstick.

I moved, striking out with my free chopstick, he returning every diminutive blow with one of his own. Hit after hit, block after block, two pandas fighting for _one_ gods-damned dumpling.

He swiped me out of the way as the dumpling finally slid off the stick, and opened his mouth wide to let it fall into his mouth.

I moved in, pushing against his chin to close his mouth, the dumpling bouncing off his nose and rolling down my arm. The panda smacked upwards on my arm, sending the dumpling flying again. I jumped, performed a quick roundhouse kick and sent it flying straight over his head. Eyes on his prize, he ran right after it.

I looked at the single chopstick in my hand and smirked, throwing it away and gave chase after the bear. Along the way, I picked up my staff, determined to make this last spar count for every ounce it was worth.

I followed, striking at him, smacking the dumpling out of his reach and yet each time I never actually got a hit in. He blocked every single blow, still hell bent on getting that dumpling. I flipped, twirling, turned, jumped and kicked, but despite my speed, agility, and years of experience, he managed to subdue me, knocking my staff out of my grip with a drop kick, and holding it down on the ground. Seeing the dumpling above his head, he made his move.

Flipping over my head, he bounced the dumpling off his belly, sending it higher than I could reach. He landed on his feet, raised his arm…and caught the dumpling in between his chopsticks.

We were breathless, panting with exertion, and exhaustion. But I hadn't felt so energized in years.

Po, looking quite proud of himself, looked back at me as he was about to pop the dumpling into his mouth. I straightened and nodded, bowing slightly to acknowledge that he had bested his master in a fair fight…and was now, truly, free to eat.

To my shock, something landed in my open hand. It was the dumpling. I stared at him, thinking he had lost his mind, or perhaps I had hit him too many times in the head.

But he just smiled and said, "I'm not hungry."

I smiled, chucking the still-warm dumpling over my shoulder.

He beamed back at me, placed his fist in his palm and bowed, "Master."

I smiled proudly, and returned the bow.

Somehow, in four days, I had managed to train him. Somehow, in under a week, I had taken the rotund, lazy son of a noodle maker, and molded him into the Dragon Warrior.

But we had little time to bask in this glory. We had been gone four days, and if the Five had already come back, victorious (as I vainly hoped), then it would be all for the better. Yet that single niggling doubting voice in my head told me not to have false hopes. In our absence, the Furious Five could have defeated Tai Lung…but at the same time, perhaps Tai Lung was already there.

Either way, it was time for us to get home.

* * *

Fine, I admit it, I was starting to like the panda. I could come up with many different reasons for it, though each one doesn't seem to truly sum up why I warmed up to him. I think the easiest, most rational answer I can give is that everything about him—his tenacity, drive, focus, and yearning to be something bigger, better, stronger than what he was—was exactly like me. The only difference was the panda's zest for life, something I had, apparently, never had.

Reading back over these memoirs, I notice that I never fully appreciated everything I had. Perhaps that is why I lost so much; the gods gave me so much, but I never appreciated it, so it was all taken away. In Po's case, he was grateful for everything that happened to him, good or bad, because he learned something from it.

I wish I had that spirit.

We returned near sundown, both of us tired, sore, but energized. I truly had not had that much fun in training since I was a child. I blame the panda…but not in a bad way. When we crossed the threshold to the training area, and to make our way to the dormitory, I decided now was as good a time as any to tell him how I felt:

"You have done well, panda."

Somehow, he seemed to know I didn't do this every day. He grinned hugely and said, "Done well? Done well? Heh, I've done awesome!"

In his excitable dance for joy at his own accomplishments, he had bumped me with his stomach, nearly knocking me off my feet. "Hmph, the true mark of a warrior is humility…" I said, echoing the lesson I learned many years ago from Master Jian Qiang. However, I continued… "…but yes, you have done," I struck out, punching him in the gut, as payback for being bounced off his stomach, "…awesome."

We shared a knowing smirk with each other; I felt fulfilled. Now, all I needed was to walk into the dormitory, find my students back, safe and sound. Oh, perhaps they'd have a scratch or two, now, because they would have fought—and likely defeated—Tai Lung, but they'd be very much alive. And Tigress, she would not only be alive, but eager to get back to training as if it were an ordinary day.

But that didn't happen.

Po and I heard heavy flapping wings, and labored breathing behind us and overhead. We turned and saw a strange shape in the dying light…and my heart fell.

It was the Furious Five.

"Guys!" Po exclaimed, dropping his pack and running over to them as Crane collapsed onto the ground, dropping the other four. He had somehow carried their battered bodies all the way from the Thread of Hope—a three-day journey on foot, less than a day's journey by air—and was now gasping for breath. Po hurried between the four still figures, and as he panicked, I felt horror spreading like ice through my veins.

"They're dead!" Po cried.

No…NO!

"Wait, they're still breathing! Are they asleep? No, their eyes are open…"

I let out a breath, _Oh thank the gods, they're still alive!_ I knew exactly what had happened, though, before Crane even said it.

"We were no match…for his nerve attack," he gasped, clutching his wing.

"He has gotten stronger," I mused to myself, moving around to each of the nerve-stricken students to release them from their locked positions. I released Mantis first, who looked better than the others certainly did.

"Tai Lung…stronger?!" Po couldn't believe it.

When I released Monkey, the simian had apparently been prepared to deliver a punch before his opponent immobilized him…which meant Po got the punch instead. "He's too fast! Oh…sorry, Po."

Freeing Tigress from the nerve bind was the hardest by far; it wasn't physically demanding, of course, but getting up close and seeing what Tai Lung had done to her…it made my blood boil. When her body relaxed, she sucked in a breath, and winced, clutching her side. She wouldn't look me in the eye—probably ashamed she had lost—when she said softly, "We thought we could stop him."

"He could have killed you!" I sternly told her, moving to release Viper. Tigress had almost _died_ and she was more worried about disappointing me than losing her own life?!

…I _really_ need to have that talk with her, don't I?

"Why didn't he?" Mantis asked.

"So you could come back here to instill fear into our hearts, but it _won't_ _**work**_!" I snapped…perhaps being a little too rough on Viper as I relieved the pressure points. She didn't seem to mind, or, if I did hurt her, it probably was a pinprick compared to what damage Tai Lung had done during the battle. I clearly saw the black and purple bruises around her neck from where his hand had undoubtedly wrapped itself around.

Po bit his lip, "Well…it might…a little, I mean…I'm pretty scared."

"You can defeat him, Panda." _Just believe…just believe you can. Did we not just get back from training you in kung fu? Do you not know how natural you are at it? You can do it!_

"Are you kidding?!" he scoffed, pointing at the Five. "If _they_ can't…they're five _masters_! I'm just one _me_!"

No. Not now, not ever. He and I had busted our asses to get to this point, and I was not going to let any amount of self-doubt tear him down and take him away from what he had accomplished. Tai Lung was still on his way, probably had a damn good head start after debilitating the Five, and we needed the Dragon Warrior. We needed him, now.

I looked the panda in the eye and stated succinctly, and firmly, "But you will have the one thing _no one _else does."

* * *

…I think I know why no one else has attempted to write about the dumpling scene before now. Writing that is killer. God, I need something chocolatey…oh, wait… *checks calendar* Oh, cool! Thank you, Jesus, for having a birthday we celebrate with eggs and chocolate bunnies! So, yeah…I guess this is an Easter gift? If you don't celebrate Easter, well…I updated. That's a good enough gift for every day, right?

Anywho, enjoy, and please read and review!


	24. Chapter 24

Note: A couple things…one, there is one more chapter left in this story. Two, as soon as it is posted, I will take a break from writing in order to get my life in the position I want it to be, and also to recollect my creativity. I've worked very hard on this fic, which, while at times was very rewarding, at other times was emotionally draining. Don't expect to see anything from me for at least a couple months, okay? I know most of my watchers and readers (if not all) eagerly await each update, but truth be told, I need a break. In advance, thank you all so much for your appreciation and your kind words.

Also, Thanks to everyone who reminded me that Easter is the resurrection, not the birthday! Shows how long its been since I actually went to church… :P

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

Chapter 24

* * *

"See? He doesn't totally hate you. Well…not anymore."

Po sighed wearily, shaking his head. "I still find it really hard to believe that his mind changed that quickly. Maybe he just forced himself to do it because he had no choice."

"Po," Tigress said, "He accepted you a lot faster than any of us…" She slowly, as if questioning the decision, stretched out her hand and took his, giving him a gentle squeeze; this, naturally, did not escape the notice of the other Five.

"He changed his mind because you proved yourself," she said. "I can't speak for all of us, but I know I doubted you…because I didn't know what you were capable of. I wasn't there to see it. But now that I know…that just makes your defeating Tai Lung that much more impressive. You deserve to be called 'Master'."

Po looked back at her, seeing in her eyes the same expression she had given him when she had first called him Master. Slowly, unsure, he smiled back. The light in her eyes changed suddenly, and his smile dropped just a little, stunned at what he was seeing.

There was no way to dismiss it or mistake it now. That look in her eyes was no secret. And if she had no problem with it…then neither should he.

He smiled again, beaming. She beamed back, her body moving just a little bit closer to his…

Crane cleared his throat, breaking the mood.

Tigress jumped and flattened the scroll across her lap, clearing her throat. "Ahem, yes! Um, where was I…?"

* * *

The time had come. Whether we were ready for it or not, it was time for Po to realize his destiny.

We—Po, the Furious Five, and myself—stood in the Sacred Hall of Warriors, in front of the Moon Pool, gazing up at the Dragon Scroll, still perched in the golden dragon's jaws. I felt the Five's presence behind me, and I truly felt bad for them. As much as I had gotten to know, and like, Po, I felt terrible knowing that they had dreamed of this happening to one of them. But like them, I had to swallow my pride and accept that the one standing next to me was the key to our survival.

Po tore his eyes away from the gilded ceiling and looked at me with mixed trepidation and humility.

"Do you…" he started. "Do you really think I'm ready?"

My first instinct was to say no, but he had proved himself to me. He had proved he was capable of more than anyone had ever given him credit. In four days, he had learned and accomplished more than I had in my lifetime. It was his work ethic and his personal moral code that led to my sincerest answer:

"You _are_ ready…Po."

He smiled. It was the first time I had ever vocally called him by name.

I looked to my right, at Oogway's shrine, and slowly walked over to pick up his staff. I gazed up at his portrait, sighing. It was a perfect likeness, the look on his face as serene and beatific as I had always known it. It had been less than five days, and I already missed him.

But I would have time to mourn him later. Grasping the peach wood staff, I ran my fingers over it. It had once been a part of the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. According to legend, it had been planted a thousand years ago, when Oogway first came to this valley. It had been my master's favorite place to meditate. One day, the story goes, he was in deep meditation when one of the branches fell and landed at his side. The moment he picked it up, it was said, the branch achieved magical abilities; it was said to be a gift from the gods. Oogway had said only once that this was not the case…but I couldn't help feeling I was unworthy of holding it.

I returned to my spot under the dragon's watchful gaze, gazing up. I never thought this would happen in my lifetime, much less that it would be my responsibility to extract the Dragon Scroll from the dragon's jaws. I closed my eyes and tried to recall what Oogway had done.

After Tai Lung had been taken away to Chorh-Gom, Master Oogway had shown me how to bring the scroll down from the ceiling. He had caught it, and put it into my hands. "Feel the weight of it," he had said. "So you may see the gravity that comes with this knowledge; only the purest soul has the strength to accept and understand the contents of this scroll." I knew what he meant; the scroll and its casing was very heavy, and I felt the weight of this ultimate power…and felt unworthy. I had the stupid hope that, if only Tai Lung had held the scroll just _once_…that he would realize he was _not_ the One.

I'm such a damned old fool.

I took a deep breath and began. I twirled the staff and then pushed my palm straight out, upsetting a few peach blossom petals that had settled on the water. Twisting and twirling the staff in my hands and around my body, I bothered the blossoms until they floated up, up, high into the air, weaving in a delicate ballet straight towards the dragon's mouth.

One delicate pink petal landed on the end of the scroll, and that tiniest of weights upset the jade and jewel-embossed case, causing it to slip from the dragon's jaws, and fall in a graceful dive straight for the Moon Pool. I remembered now, that the Moon Pool wasn't just there for meditation; it was an anti-theft device. If either the thief or the scroll were to slip, the latter would be lost at the bottom of the pool (which was rumored to be bottomless), and the former would fall to their doom.

I adjusted the staff in my hand, jutting it out and catching the scroll within the crook of the ancient stick. The weight of the scroll forced the staff down until the tip of it settled onto the Moon Pool's still surface. The ripple it caused rang like a bell, chiming in this historic moment.

Carefully, I pulled the scroll away, feeling it in my hand again. Somehow, this time, it felt…lighter. I turned back to Po and held it aloft.

"Read it, Po," I said. "Read it, and become the Dragon Warrior."

Tentatively, he reached for it, then stopped. "Wait, what happens when I read it?"

"No one knows," I admitted. "The legends say that you will hear a butterfly's wing beat, and see in the darkest cave…"

He got overly excited, "Wow! Can I punch through walls?! Can I do a quadruple back-flip?! Can…"

"Focus. Focus," I reminded him.

"Huh? Oh yeah, yeah…"

"Read it, Po," I said. "Read it, and become the Dragon Warrior."

"Whoa…" he took it in his hands and pulled on the end to open it. We all waited with bated breath…then sighed when he struggled to open it. He went so far as to bite at the jade stopper, twisting with bearish grunts, "Its impossible to open," he grunted by way of explanation.

I sighed and held out my hand. He frowned and relented, handing the scroll back to me; I lifted the stopper with very little effort. He took this in stride,

"Thanks…I uh, loosened it up for ya, there."

Of course.

"Okay, here goes," he said with a deep breath, and began slowly unrolling the scroll. We all waited patiently; as the late afternoon light hit the scroll, a golden light emited from it, and I stood watching, enraptured, wondering as his face paled and he gasped…_Is this some holy secret? Some power only bestowed by the gods? Why else would it glow with such a holy light? Whatever the secret to limitless power is, truly, it is…_

"It's blank."

I almost didn't hear him. "What?"

"Here, look," he shoved it in my face.

"No!" I turned away, "I am forbidden to look upon—" _Oh please_, my inner voice tempted. _You're the Grand Master now. If anyone other than the Dragon Warrior deserves to see this, its you, his master._ I glanced back at the scroll and dropped the staff, holding the scroll up to the light. I tried unrolling it again, time and time again, as if by doing so I would find the message hidden beneath the golden reflective coating. I held it up to the dying light, perhaps it had been written with disappearing ink? It seemed like something Oogway would do to further ensure the secret to limitless power stayed in the right hands.

But Po was right. It was…

"Blank," I stared, devastated. "I…I don't understand."

"Okay," Po gesticulated. "Maybe…Oogway really was just a crazy old turtle after all…"

"No," I defended, trying to convince myself as well as him, and the Five, "He was the wisest of us all."

Po scoffed, "Come _on_, face it, he picked me by accident. Of course I'm not the Dragon Warrior," he finished quietly, completely dejected. I turned round, the closed scroll in my hand, staring down into the Moon Pool. Reflected in the still water was the golden dragon on the ceiling. _What were you thinking?_ I asked myself, but also asked Oogway, if he could have heard me.

Tigress brought me out of my thoughts, venturing timidly, "But…who will stop Tai Lung?" Gods, she sounded as defeated as I felt. No doubt Tai Lung gave her the full brunt of his attacks. Judging by her injuries, she must have fought quite fiercely, but as a result received the worst wounds.

"He will destroy everything, and every_one_," Crane said, just as confused, as worried, as overwhelmed.

No. I wasn't going to let that happen. Tai Lung had killed too many people the first time, had made orphans of too many children, and forced too many parents to bury their young, too many funerals, too much destruction…

In my heart, I knew what had to be done. I knew what I had always needed to do.

"No," I said with conviction, turning back to them. "We evacuate the valley; we must protect the villagers."

"What about you, Master?" Tigress asked.

"I will stay behind."

I saw the expression in her eyes, the fire extinguished; her body slumped, and I'm fairly sure it wasn't because of her injuries. Po was the only one brave enough, I believe, to say something:

"But Shifu…he'll kill you."

I sighed, "Then I will have paid for my mistake." And why shouldn't I? I had brought this upon them, I had caused those significant injuries the Furious Five had suffered, had ruined their lives…and all because I had loved. I had loved my wife, and loved my son, and look what it had wrought me.

Now, I was determined to do one final act of love. I let them go, told them to leave. However I met my end, I didn't want them to be there to see it.

"Everyone," I said, "You must all continue your journey without me. I am very proud to have been your master." I punched my fist into my palm and bowed low to them, for they now deserved more respect than I did.

They bowed back, silently acknowledging my dismissal, probably the nicest dismissal I had ever given them. There was no room for bitterness, no room for sympathy, no room for lengthy goodbyes. I don't think I could have tolerated it anyway. I didn't want pity, or sympathy, nor did I want to go to my grave seeing the looks on their faces, or see their tears…if there were any.

I turned my back and limped back to stare into the Moon Pool to gather my thoughts. Behind me, the Five had already turned away. But I could still feel Po's presence, watching me retreat into myself…and I knew he looked at me with pity, and, I'm sure, wished he could do something to help.

There was no helping me, not anymore. I had brought this on myself…and it was time to answer for my mistakes, for my sins…and whether I went to Heaven or to Hell, at least I could die knowing that justice had finally been done.

* * *

Hours later, long after the sun had set, I stood on the steps of the Jade Palace, directly below the Sacred Hall of Warriors. I waited, was waiting, waiting for my doom. The sky was covered in a thick blanket of charcoal grey and black clouds, threatening an impending storm. Turns out that old adage about "red sky at night, red sky in morning" predicting the weather wasn't that far off.

I could see the evacuees far below, the long line progressing through the village and disappearing into the distant foothills. The golden yellow lanterns that lit the way reminded me of fireflies on a summer's night, though oddly, they also reminded me of the peach blossoms that had carried my master into the next life. The storm clouds gathered high above my head, thunder rumbling as lightning danced between the clouds.

It felt like karmic retribution, standing alone on the steps of the Jade Palace, ready to face down a monster I had created. It _was_ appropriate, too, that I should die that night. I probably deserved it. No, I _did_ deserve it. I spent that time looking back on my life, wondering how much I had forgotten, all the sins I had committed and the people I had wronged.

Of course I thought of the Furious Five, how I had failed them, denied them the encouragement and support they deserved. I thought of Master Oogway, whom I was sure was disappointed in me. I thought of my friends, who were now scattered throughout the empire, most of whom had not spoken to me in forty years…and were probably dead by now.

I had promised Li to be with him until the bitter end. We were best friends, weren't we? I had promised to be by his side, and though he had left to be with Ren, I still felt entitled to keep that promise, and I had broken it.

Ren…I owed him too much. He had given my best friend love and support, and he was as honorable a warrior as I have ever, and would ever, meet.

Ochir…I had only recently reestablished our friendship, making it that much stronger. After Tai Lung's imprisonment, he had been my support to keep me from sinking into the abyss.

And, I thought with disbelief, I thought of Xue Shan as well; I had failed to see that there was more to him than he originally showed. I had failed to see that he had such darkness inside him, and did nothing to help him combat it.

And of course, I thought of my long-dead wife. That last thought actually brought me comfort. I closed my eyes and forced myself to think of the silver lining: if I were to die tonight, that would mean being reunited with her. If I couldn't have her in life, then having her for eternity in the afterlife would be just fine by me.

I opened my eyes as lightning flashed overhead.

And there he was.

Tai Lung towered over me, his form as dark as his expression, yet his yellow eyes blazed with a maddened fury I had never seen. There was so much hate in those eyes, so much disdain and anger. I had no doubt that this, what I saw before me, was the result of twenty years of growing rage. His pose was oddly relaxed, but I saw his hackles rising and shoulder muscles tightening. He was on the defensive; so was I. I think, in that moment, we both knew that there was no turning back, whatever the outcome would be.

He somehow managed to soften the look in his eyes as he bowed his head slightly.

"I have come home, Master," he said.

That was it. Those five simple words…but he had spit out the last word like a curse, like poison, mocking me, daring me to deny him. I had held out hope—stupidly—that he would show up, call me "Baba" and we could forget this silly scroll nonsense, but how ridiculous and unlikely would that have been? As soon as he said "Master" though, I would have given anything to be looking back at the little boy I had raised, to have this grown man call me "Baba"…just one last time. But as I looked back, I no longer saw that little boy. The image of the child who held out his arms to me was no longer there; that child was dead and gone.

"This is no longer your home, and I am no longer your master." Just saying it was like a knife to the heart; though he didn't show it, I knew he felt it too.

"Oh yes," he sneered—the only proof I had that my barbed comment had wrapped itself around his heart, "You have a new _favorite_." He unclenched his teeth, recovering with a dark chuckle, "So where is this…Po? Did I scare him off?"

"This battle is between _you_ and _me_," I stated sternly. I wanted to keep Po out of this. He was an innocent victim, and I would not allow him to get hurt.

Tai Lung, for his part, looked a bit disappointed to not be facing the Dragon Warrior; I truly think he may very well have killed him, just to get the scroll, and the title. But, as he had learned many years before, he hid those emotions under the thick armor he had forged for himself. If Zeng's summations could be true, no doubt that armor had been built up while in prison, honed, and perfected, until not even the chinks in his armor could be detected. But they were still there.

"So, that is how it is going to be?" he asked, turning his body away from me.

"That is how it must be," I said, taking a step back.

He was looking over his shoulder at me, giving me the same look I had seen him give me the day of his rampage. There was a low growl in his throat. I braced myself.

Suddenly he roared, jumping high into the air, bringing his foot down into a powerful drop kick. I jumped out of the way as the steps cracked into a crater in the exact spot I had been just seconds before. Slamming his foot down again, he dislodged a huge boulder, kicking it right toward me. I had barely seconds to determine the boulder's weakest point before striking it and shattering it.

But he had used the boulder as a cover, so that when it broke apart, he was there with a punch strong enough to send me flying through the closed double doors of the Hall of Warriors. I recovered quickly, landing on my feet and sliding backwards on the polished floor. He stormed into the hall as I lowered myself into a battle stance.

"I rotted in jail for _twenty years_ because of _your_ weakness!" he snarled.

I growled back, "Obeying your master is not weakness!"

He pointed an accusatory finger at me. "You _knew_ I was the Dragon Warrior! You _always_ knew. But when _Oogway_ said otherwise…what did you do?"

I felt my heart leap into my throat when I realized he and I were standing in the same exact spots we had occupied on that fateful day. He stood in the same spot where he pleaded to me with his eyes…those eyes that I couldn't bear to look into.

"WHAT did you DO?" he demanded. He snarled viciously, baring his fangs to answer his own question: "_NOTHING_!"

"You were not meant to be the Dragon Warrior!" I decried. "That was _not_ my fault!"

"_Not_ your _fault_?!" he advanced, eyes burning with the intensity of hellfire. "Who filled my head with _dreams_?!" He swung his leg and kicked over Ochir's armor; I dodged all the parts just in time, but the various pieces knocked over other artifacts.

"Who drove me to train _until my bones cracked_?!" he grabbed hold of the Shield of Fire Monkey Pass…the same shield Shan had taken and used for battle when he was scarcely twenty-five. Tai Lung threw the shield like a discus, and it sunk deep into a green granite column; I barely had time to avoid it slicing me in half.

"Who denied me my _destiny_?!" he grabbed a rack of pole weapons and cast the whole thing at me, easily a dozen weapons headed straight for me. I held out my fists and palms, deflecting each pole arm, just as Yeying had taught me many years ago.

Tai Lung lifted the Sword of Heroes from the floor with his foot, sending it my way with a quick roundhouse kick. I stepped to the side, expecting to grasp it by the handle and use it. But something stopped me. I had used this same weapon against another snow leopard, and nearly killed him. As hard as this was…I wasn't going to kill Tai Lung. That wasn't the point of this battle anyway.

I used my hands to paw the sword around, around my body, over my head, my face reflected in the polished blade. That same face, that same person who, forty years ago, had used this honorable blade for a dishonorable act. Never again. I stabbed it deep into the floor, determined that neither of us could use it to kill the other.

"It was _never_ my decision to make!" I glared back at him.

He growled at me, but then his attention was caught by something else, something that seemed out of place to him. He strode over to Oogway's shrine, straight for the peach wood staff.

I watched carefully, wondering what he was doing…and secretly hoping he would change his mind.

He turned around to face me, the staff clutched in his strong hand. With a smirk, he boasted,

"It is now."

He had learned nothing, had no regrets. He had seen Oogway as his Yeh-yeh, his grandfather, and now that the tortoise was dead…he had no remorse, did not bother to mourn…despite everything my Master had done for him. All the sacrifices we made, the hours we spent training him, the hope and love and affection we poured on him…and this was how he repaid us? How he repaid _him_?!

Now I was pissed.

We had done so much for him, given him such opportunities, and he was still willing to throw it all away for an insane quest for a title that he didn't deserve.

So I attacked.

He blocked me with kicks, with the staff in his hand, with everything he knew and everything I had ever taught him. I tried to flip over his head to strike him from behind; if I hit a nerve in the middle of his back, I could immobilize him. He didn't give me that opportunity. He caught me by the neck in the crook of the staff, and swung down, slamming me into the floor.

"Give…me…the scroll," he gritted out, pressing down on my throat.

"I would rather die!" I hissed back.

He snarled…and took me up on the offer. The crook of the staff pushed against my throat, threatening to cut off my airways and pin me to the floor. I pushed back as hard as I could, because I knew that once I was down, he would not hesitate to take advantage of my weakness and kill me.

This battle for control had an unexpected and disheartening effect. Against the two opposing forces, the ancient limb snapped in half.

We simultaneously let go, the two pieces clattering to the floor. I looked on, devastated, spying a few peach blossoms on the breeze, twirling around the staff…as if Oogway's spirit were mourning the loss as I was.

Tai Lung took his chance, delivering a flying kick that pushed me back against a column. I pushed back on his foot with two hands, pushing him back into the opposite pillar. I tried to outrun him. He was still too strong, but I could tell he was fatigued by his journey. If I could only tire him out, perhaps I could defeat him…

I did the same thing that I had done when I fought Xue Shan. I jumped along the wall, from pillar to pillar, Tai Lung on my heels, right behind me. He was barely a half-step behind me. He swiped with his claws, pounced, missing me by inches. I jumped up to the rafters, and he was quick behind me; with a mighty roar, he slammed into me, sending us both up, through the roof and high into the sky.

Lightning flashed and thunder boomed around us. He kicked, punched, swiped, the claws slicing off a strip of my sleeve as I desperately tried to keep in control of this fight. He swiped again as thunder roared in our ears. I temporarily got the upper hand, kicking down on the back of his head, then latched myself to his ears.

As we fell back to the Hall's roof, I thought I had the upper hand. I had always been able to subdue an opponent by landing on the back of their neck and holding their head back, exposing the throat. But Tai Lung was more limber than any opponent I had ever fought. He reached around, elbowed me once, twice until I let go, and he grabbed me by the neck and forced me down in front of him.

We fell, faster and faster, face-to-face as my head felt the full brunt of the impact with the roof. We fell through, wood splintering and shingles shattering, but I was barely aware of anything else when Tai Lung suddenly let go of me and delivered a mid-air roundhouse kick, sending me flying.

Pain shot all the way through my body as my back hit the jade pillar. I couldn't breathe. I fell, landing on my side on the hard granite floor. As I struggled to catch my breath, to pick myself up, Tai Lung had crawled his way down the opposing pillar, smashing the Brazier of the Eternal Blue Flame. The flames licked around his claws, fireballs in his hands. Hate in his eyes, he bounded through the flames licking the floor and pounced on me as I struggled to stand.

He came at me with every ounce of strength he possessed, and I realized too late that no matter how tired he was, I would not tire him out. He was far too gone, far too enraged, filled with the strength attributed only to madness, for me to do anything but clumsily block as many of his strikes as he could.

But something changed, something I hadn't expected…

"All I ever did, I did to make you proud!" he roared as he hit me, giving it his all. "Tell me how _proud_ you are, Shifu!"

Two more hits, ones I had barely enough strength to block.

"Tell Me!" he snarled.

He finally got in a hit on my shoulder and I faltered in my step. My stance was off; I knew it, and so did he.

"TELL ME!" he roared, hitting me with both claws, sending me flying back several yards.

I hit the floor hard, feeling pain shooting up my spine as I bounced and rolled, hitting the dais surrounding the Moon Pool. I gasped and struggled to breath as he snapped his wrists, the fire dying, leaving his hands smoking, smoldering, like the look in his eyes.

My entire body hurt. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to move. I knew I had to have broken several bones, had several bruises, multiple cuts. I had been injured many times before, but these…were almost too much. My body shook, my arms, while trying to prop me up, were trembling, my muscles refusing to work for me. Tai Lung's words rang in my ears, and it was like a giant gong being rung right in my ear: too shocking to ignore.

_All I ever did, I did to make you proud_.

Had he thought I was never proud of him? Had he…oh gods. Oh no…

That was when I knew, for the first time, that was when I realized just what I had done. This, all of this, was my fault. I had ruined his life with my selfishness and pride, just as surely as I had ruined Tigress'. It could very well have been Tigress who hated me as surely as Tai Lung did. Everything that had happened, all the pain, the darkness, the hate and regret and melancholy…was my fault. I had told myself never to love again…when love was exactly what I needed, what both of them needed. It may have been too late to tell Tigress, but I could still tell him…

"I…have always been proud…of you," I panted. "From the first moment, I've been…proud…of you…"

He paused, staring at me.

"…And it was my pride…that blinded me," I continued. "I loved you too much…to see what you were becoming…" and finally, I did the one thing I could not bring myself to do twenty years before: I looked him in the eye.

"…What I was turning you into. I'm s—" It was pointless. What I was about to say was pointless…

_No, this is what he needs to hear._

He didn't care. It was too late for this.

_But it needs to be done…_

"I'm sorry."

The hellishly enraged expression trickled down until it was no more, completely nonexistent, replaced instead with an expression of shock and awe. He stared back at me, searching my face, and I could see what he was thinking.

_He's lying,_ he was probably telling himself. _He didn't love me. What father would do that to his son? What father would disown his son? He did it to save his own skin! He never cared about me!_

All these thoughts I expected. I would have been surprised if he didn't believe it. But I stared back at him, imploring with my eyes, begging him to see that I was serious, that I truly was sorry for what I had done. That _I_ was the reason he went to prison, that all of this, all that had happened to him…was my fault.

Then his gaze softened, and I saw it.

_He…he still…he must still love—_

But then just as suddenly his heart and his eyes hardened. With a snarl, he slammed his hand down into my throat, wrapping his fingers around my neck.

"I don't want your apology," he seethed, then lifted me high and shook me like a rat, "I want my scroll!"

I saw his eyes flick up to the dragon in the ceiling; he gaped, "…What?"

I remembered I had given the scroll to Po, a last-ditch effort to keep it out of Tai Lung's clutches. Only now, he knew he had been had. Viciously snarling, he slammed my battered body back into the floor, cracking the marble around me as I felt pain once again shooting up my spine and throughout my body.

"WHERE IS IT?" he roared.

His hand tightened around my throat, and I struggled to breathe; I coughed out, "Dragon…Warrior…has taken scroll halfway across China by now…you will never see that scroll, Tai Lung," I heard the definitive sound his lethal claws extracting. His breathing hitched, wrath filling his eyes.

This was it. This was the end. It would make sense, wouldn't it, that I should be frightened by what was to come. Truthfully, I was afraid, but not of death. I was worried about how much it might hurt. I knew the Tai Lung was angry enough to want me to suffer a slow, agonizing death. But I also knew that Yeying, my family, and long-dead friends awaited me on the other side…

His grip on my throat tightened harder, obstructing the air in my lungs until it hurt just to breathe. I clutched desperately at his large hand, feeling my body weaken, my sight dimming…

"HEY!"

Tai Lung's grip loosened enough for me to suck down a breath. Even in my weakened state, I heard someone panting heavily, then, to my amazement, I discovered…it was Po. He had come back.

He panted heavily, thumbing over his shoulder "…Stairs…hoo…"

Tai Lung eyed him strangely, "_Who_ are _you_?"

"Buddy," Po recovered, "I…am the Dragon Warrior." He hunched over again, still trying to catch his breath.

I caught Tai Lung's expression just before I felt the darkness creeping in. the snow leopard looked at the panda in complete disbelief…but then chuckled, and stood.

"You?" he shook his head in bewilderment, and threw me down to the floor like I was a dirty rag, asking me, "_Him_? He's a panda, you're a panda!" he turned and pointed at him. He laughed again, "What're you going to do, big guy, sit on me?"

Po chuckled, "Don't tempt me. Now, I'm going to use this…" he taunted...with the Dragon Scroll in hand. "You want it, come get it."

That was all I heard before everything faded to black.

* * *

Strangely, I opened my eyes a minute later, and sat up. I could still see them, and I watched as Tai Lung charged at him, chasing the panda down the stairs and into the village. But as soon as they passed through the doors of the Sacred Hall of Warriors, and as soon as I stood, brushing myself off, I found I wasn't alone. There was someone there, on the floor next to me…

I wasn't prepared for the horrifying shock: I was staring at my own body.

"Relax, Shifu," I heard someone tell me, "You'll be fine."

I whirled around, hoping, praying, that it was my wife.

It wasn't.

The voice was masculine.

But that didn't mean I wasn't glad to see him.

It was Jian Qiang.

I stared in amazement, running my hands over my chest in shock. "It can't be…"

He chuckled, nonchalantly leaning against the nearest pillar, looking exactly like the young master I had met when I was five years old. The light I remember in his eyes was there once again; he had obviously found peace in death. He smiled warmly at me, explaining, "No, not yet. You've got a hell of a lot of fight for someone so small. But I should expect that."

"Why are you here?"

"Well, the intent was to whisk you away to the afterlife, but honestly, I think I can defy the gods this time around."

"Why would you risk it?"

"I'm about as stubborn as you are, remember?" he smirked. "Besides, you've still got too much fight left in you."

"No offense, Master Qiang, but can't you see I'm lying on the floor?" I pointed at my own battered body.

"Of course I can, I'm not blind," he said sternly. "What I'm telling you is that your time has not yet come. You still have far too much _chi_ left. Besides, there is too much unfinished business."

"Like what?"

"You know what," he winked.

He was right. I had the Five to think of, especially Tigress. I had the villagers, I had…

I had Po.

"Shifu," he said kindly, "You still have too much to accomplish."

"I should have been dead a long time ago."

"Your parents _did_ tell me you had always been stubborn. Your brother wanted me to tell you that you're too stubborn to die now."

"I want to see my wife again," I begged. "I want to see Yeying."

"I promise you, you will."

I sighed, feeling rejected, defeated, and still desperate. Yet Qiang was right; I wasn't done yet. I still had too much to live for, too much to accomplish. I had lived over seventy years, and by heaven, perhaps I would live for a century if I willed it. I _was_ too stubborn to die…and I wasn't going to. Not today, nor anytime soon.

Qiang seemed to read my thoughts and warmly smiled again. "We'll wait for you."

I nodded and knelt next to myself. But I stopped, wanting to know… "Master Qiang, what is Heaven like?"

"I'm not at liberty to say. But believe me when I tell you that Chancellor Miao was wrong: it _is_ possible for you to find Heaven on earth…you just need to know where to look."

And I knew exactly where to look. He smiled back at me and patted my back.

"Now get your tail back in there; you're not dead yet."

I gave him one last smile, and laid myself down, vaguely hearing someone calling my name…

_Shifu…

* * *

_

"Shifu!"

Someone was shaking me, shadowing me from the bright morning light streaming through the smashed open doorway. I fought to open my eyes, slowly; I was in someone's shadow…someone's large shadow.

"Po…you're alive…" I felt myself smiling, then my pessimistic side kicked in, "…or we're both dead."

"No, we're alive. I defeated Tai Lung."

"Really?"

He nodded.

I smiled, "Wow…" He had done it. I don't know how he had done it, but at that point, details didn't matter. The Valley was saved…and it was all thanks to the Dragon Warrior.

"It is as Oogway foretold," I said, still weak. "You _are_ the Dragon Warrior. You have brought peace not only to the valley…but also to me." I felt my eyelids getting heavy. "Thank you…"

I could finally rest. I had no idea how all that stress had affected my health. Now that the threat was passed, I could finally rest easy. I had lived so long stressing out about the most asinine reasons, but now, thanks to Po, I could rest, recover, sleep…

"No, no, Shifu!" he yelled, "Don't die!"

Speaking of stress…

"I'm not dying, you _idiot_!" I snapped, then quickly corrected myself, "I mean…_Dragon Warrior_. I am simply…at peace."

Recognition dawned on his face, "Oh…so, I should be quiet now?"

"If you can," I smirked to myself, rolling onto my back and closing my eyes. I took a deep breath, ticking my ear once as I heard him lie down next to me, staring up at the ceiling.

He had defeated Tai Lung.

I don't know how. I didn't think I would ever know. But it didn't really matter. The Valley was safe, my students were safe, my daughter was safe…we were all safe. We had weathered the storm, and come out victorious.

Po was, by far, the most victorious of all. And I was proud of him. He deserved this rest as much as I certainly did…

"You wanna get something to eat?"

Well, so much for rest. I sighed, expecting this from him, but at the same time, I was quietly grateful. Despite the extraordinary achievement of defeating the scariest and strongest kung fu warrior of all time, he was still the same Po Ping. And as much as I wanted to lie back and appreciate that I hadn't died a violent death, I figured, _Oh, what the hell, live a little…_

I nodded, "Yeah."

* * *

Well, as it turned out, the Valley had been saved in more ways than one. There had been no one there to say for certain what had happened during the battle, and there was very little evidence to support the claim that a battle had actually occurred. Po did fill me in on some of the finer points, things that I had taught him that he had used to win the day. I think he did that for my benefit, to show me I was still a good teacher; gods bless him for that.

However, despite the damages that were supposedly made during the battle, the only evidence that there had even been a battle at all was a massive crater in the town center, and a distinctive snow-leopard-shaped hole in the ground. However, whatever damages had been made to homes, businesses and other properties…they were in pristine condition.

But that wasn't the only surprise.

Po, the Dragon Warrior, had, after only three days of training, had successfully performed the Wuxi finger hold to defeat the snow leopard. Honestly, I wasn't surprised. A few things did surprise me, however.

For one, recall how I once said "The hardest part is cleaning up afterwards"? There was simply nothing _to_ clean (except for the crater, of course). It was as if the finger hold, when performed, instead of destroying, had repaired everything that had been damaged. Some villagers even stated that their homes and businesses had never had such sturdy foundations.

And yet there was no sign of Tai Lung anywhere.

Very few people know the true secret of the Wuxi finger hold. Like any element in nature, it has two sides: light and dark; to create, or destroy. The effect depends on the intentions of the warrior wielding it. Had I used it on Po in the Sacred Hall of Warriors just a week before, most certainly the entire mountaintop would have been nonexistent. But when Po utilized the same move…you guessed it.

It pained me to think my son was dead, but at the same time, I never heard contrary from Po that he was alive, either. My guess? Perhaps he is still out there, somewhere, licking his wounds and preparing to come back. Or perhaps Po had done him a mercy, and killed him, completely obliterating him; harsh, perhaps, but keeping him alive would not have done much for either of them. Tai Lung would have just been sent back to prison, or finally be executed for his crimes. So, perhaps, he _is_ dead, and that is a blessing in itself that there is no physical representation that could be further demeaned. No doubt the villagers are still bitter enough to desecrate his corpse…if there was one.

Things changed quickly in the Jade Palace after that. I curtailed all training (except Po's) until we repaired the Sacred Hall of Warriors. The Furious Five and all the servants chipped in; even Zeng graciously offered to glue the Urn of Whispering Warriors together again—if you ask me, the urn looks much more beautiful now, _with_ its flaws.

Once all the repairs were made, I recognized that, under my nose, other things were being repaired. First impressions are always most important, and though Po had completely screwed up the first time, his easy-going nature and kind personality quickly won over every palace servant…and the Furious Five.

Tigress is still rather distant to him, but as far as I know, she respects him.

As for me, I began spending more and more time outside the palace walls. Upon Po's urging, all kung fu masters made more frequent trips into the village. There was quite a bit of wisdom there—it made us appear less god-like, more approachable. I think the panda is smarter than I had originally thought. Still clueless, in some respects, but otherwise…he's doing well.

* * *

It is still too early for me to predict what kind of future Po will have. I know that his will be much brighter—and blessed—than my life had been. Though perhaps there are the little blessings that I have overlooked. It has been a long life, and until recently, it had been at times a very lonely one.

I am now the Grand Master of the Jade Palace—quite a feat for the youngest son of a rice farmer! Though I don't think of myself as a self-made man; I would never claim that. But looking back at what I have written here, I can easily name all that I have lost…but also what I have gained.

My advice to anyone and everyone, anywhere and everywhere, who should ever read this narrative of my life:

Never give up. Never lose faith and hope, no matter how hopeless a situation looks.

The mystery of the Dragon Scroll is simply this: one needs to have faith, not only in life, but in yourself.

Anyone can be a hero. That was the message Oogway intended. The reflective gold scroll, which showed the face of the, was the key.

Po explained it more aptly later on—and revealed a family secret. Hopefully he'll forgive me for revealing it here. "There is no secret ingredient."

His father, of course, is well known in the valley for his Secret Ingredient Soup…which turns out to have no secret ingredient. "People only have to believe it's special in order to _make_ it special."

Anyone can have power and might…but only if they believe. Something—or someone—completely ordinary can become special, so long as they believe it, and as long as everyone else does as well. Anyone can be a Dragon Warrior, anyone can be anything they aspire to be, as long as they believe that they can.

And now—finally—I believe.

* * *

Tigress rolled up the final scroll and set it back in its place. She sat back in her chair, looking around the table at her friends.

"Wow," was all she could say.

"Wait, that's it?" Mantis asked. "That's the end?"

"It must be, for now," Crane reasoned. "Once he comes back from this funeral—whoever it is—that would have to fill the last chapter, wouldn't it?"

"It sure answered a lot of questions," Viper mused aloud, indicating the entire work. "Master's more complicated than I thought!"

"No kidding. What a life…" Monkey said, shaking his head. "No wonder he was so desperate to find peace."

"First he lost Yeying," Tigress said softly, "Then Tai Lung…and he almost lost the five of us, whom he actually considered children."

Po was looking right at her. "You okay?"

Tigress mutely nodded, saying quietly, "It all makes sense now…everything. Why he's always been so cold, so distant…I want to blame him, but I cant anymore. Now…I truly feel sorry for him…"

Po noticed she had gotten misty-eyed, and he wrapped his arms around her, gently rubbing her back. "Its okay…I bet it feels great to know now, doesn't it?"

"Feels great to know what?"

Six jaws dropped and turned to stare at the doorway.

Shifu had returned.

And his eyes were trained on the basket of scrolls, still sitting on the kitchen table.

Monkey bit his lip; Viper hid her horrified expression behind her coils; Crane was looking anywhere but at the red panda; Mantis was sporting a blatantly guilty look; both Tigress and Po were so shocked, they had forgotten they were still embracing. No matter what their individual pasts and experiences, in that one instance they all shared the same thought.

They were so _screwed_.

"So…" he began amiably enough. "You found my memoirs, did you?" He glared at six guilty looks. "You deliberately disobeyed me when I told you to stay out of my quarters, and you invaded my privacy? I trained you all, made you the best of the best, gave you better lives than you ever had the chance for, and _this_ is how you repay me?"

"It was my fault," Po said.

Shifu blinked in surprise. "What?"

"It was all me. I was the one to disobey you. When I found what state your room was in, I told the others. We were _worried_ about you, Shifu!"

"We cleaned it up for you," Viper offered as an apology. "We changed the sheets…"

"Aired out the mattress," Crane nodded.

"Washed the dishes that were in there," Monkey added.

"I, uh, watered your orchids for you," Tigress said, uncharacteristically sheepish. Shifu gave her the harshest look by far.

"I see. Yet you still invaded my privacy…"

"We didn't think…"

"No, Tigress, _clearly_ you didn't think!" he snapped. "Do you have so little faith in your master? You don't think that, if I intended those memoirs never be read, that I would have hidden them in such an obvious place?"

The silence in that kitchen was stifling…and Tigress' temper was already flaring.

"_WHAT?"_ she roared, drawing out her claws.

Shifu's lips finally broke into a sly smile and he chuckled, "Yes, I'm fully aware that you know my favorite hiding spot. You discovered it years ago—you honestly think I didn't know? I raised you better than that."

"Wait," Po said, releasing his hold on the tiger, "You mean to tell me that you _meant_ us to find those scrolls?"

"Like I said, I knew at least the fair majority of you were curious enough to read what I had left on my desk. I figured the rest would fall into place. I'm not sure if I should be glad or disappointed that you all are so predictable."

"But just so we're clear," Mantis said slowly, "You're not mad at us?"

Shifu sighed, clasping his hands behind his back, "No, I am not…"

"Then what's with the face?" Po asked.

"What face?"

"_That_ face."

"There isn't a 'face', panda," he said, his eye beginning to twitch. "I…" he sighed again, "The funeral was hard."

"Oh…oh yeah, that's right…" they all suddenly remembered. Their master had left because an old friend was on their deathbed. The poor soul must have died soon after he had arrived.

"Who was it?" Viper asked, hoping she sounded as sympathetic as she intended.

"It can wait," the red panda explained. "First, there are some people I'd like you all to meet." He turned and beckoned to whoever was standing in the hall. A moment later, three people entered the kitchen…and even though the Five and the Dragon Warrior had never seen a portrait, nor ever met them before, they instinctively knew who they were looking at.

A tall wolf, grizzled and light grey with age, sporting an eyepatch over his right eye, stood hand-in-hand with a shorter fox, light reddish fur peppered with grey and white. And beside them was a massive rhino, whose brown eyes showed the fierceness of the warrior he had been, but the wisdom of the master he still was.

They were speechless for a long moment…until Po broke down and gave in to his fanboyish tendencies.

"WHOA! Master Flying Rhino! Holy cow!"

Ochir laughed, the sound rumbling like thunder. "Good Lord, Shifu, he's exactly as you said he'd be!"

Dong Li and Jian Ren both chuckled, the former shaking his head good-naturedly. He sighed, gazing upon the young faces. "So…these are your students. They are everything you described. You must be proud."

"I am," Shifu said, beaming at the six warriors. "I am very proud of them."

"And you," Dong Li approached Tigress, "Must be Tigress."

"He told you about me?" she asked, bewildered.

"Are you kidding?" the old fox laughed. "We couldn't get him to _shut up_ about you! I always guessed, if he ever had a daughter, he'd be prouder of her than any son…"

Tigress glanced over at the red panda, who had averted his gaze and was whistling innocently. She just smiled.

Jian Ren approached Po, "And this is Po Ping, the Dragon Warrior…I expected you to be…"

"Thin?" Po deadpanned.

"I was going to say 'taller'," the one-eyed wolf replied with an arched brow.

"Sure you were," muttered the panda.

"Are you as good a cook as Shifu tells us?"

"He's better," Mantis piped up.

"Good, because I'm starving," Ochir said. "It was a hell of a journey from the Dragon's Lair…"

"You went all the way to Zhou-Tong?" Viper asked with surprise.

Shifu nodded. "I had to—that was where Xue Shan was."

Silence fell upon the room again. Crane was the one to speak first. "You mean…"

Shifu sighed, "Master Xue Shan lived a long life, and it was a good life, despite the mistakes he had made…"

"His passing was peaceful," Dong Li assured.

"Was it old age?" Monkey asked.

"Natural causes; if you can call it that," Ochir said sadly. "He'd been sick a long time."

"The plague," Ren explained. "The one he'd survived as a child. It had lain dormant inside him for years…a few years ago, Li and I had finally tracked him down. We expected a fight, but he didn't budge, seemed to welcome the idea that we would kill him. You see, he had just been to see some healers, who had discovered a tumor. It weakened his _chi_, which left the plague open to take over his body. I suppose he just gave up after that."

"We found he'd been living in Zhou-Tong for a good thirty years or so," Li said. "We stuck around, tried to give him some comfort. We moved in with him after his wife passed, so we could care for him…"

"Wait, I thought you guys hated each other?" Po asked.

"That was before Shan's deathbed confession," Shifu said. "Please serve us some of your noodle soup, Po. I've missed it, and I need something of comfort to get through the rest of the story."

"The rest of the story?" Monkey echoed.

"Of course," the red panda said, pulling out chairs for his old friends. "Every story needs an ending, doesn't it?"

* * *

And this story, apparently, needs an epilogue. Coming soon, to a fanfic near you!


	25. Chapter 25

Final Disclaimer: I don't own it, but the story ideas, the OCs, and the (various) plots are mine. Please don't use without my consent.

Secondly, be prepared for a huge surprise about midway through this chapter. Also, I was planning to have a FAQs chapter after this one, in case there are any unresolved questions that people have; if interested, or if you have any burning questions, please direct all questions to me through a PM. Thank you all for reading.

* * *

Memoirs of a Master

Chapter 25: The epilogue

* * *

It took me a week to get there, as it always had. Old as I am, I can still make that journey as I did many years ago. I've discovered shortcuts over the years. I met Ochir—Master Flying Rhino—along the way. Li and Ren had been living together for…oh, what has it been, fifty, fifty-five years, give or take? A good long time, and may you two have many more years together.

Now, Xue Shan had made his fair share of mistakes. After Yeying's death, as you all know now, he completely broke contact with us. All we heard were rumors, and in many cases, we didn't like what we heard. He had completely given in to the darkness inside him, and it was truly ugly. I hardly recognized him; he looked nothing like the handsome youth I had befriended so many years ago. He was grizzled, worn, scarred, and, well, ugly.

When he arrived at Li and Ren's doorstep, his had already been sick for at least a decade. It was a miracle he lasted so long. Miracle or his feline obstinacy, I may never know, but something made him wait long enough for me to come to him. I almost refused to come. Had Dong Li not been the one to beg my presence, I would not have been gifted with the information I am now going to share.

First, the six of you will be surprised to know—and you, especially, Tigress—that Xue Shan wasn't the only snow leopard there. There were three more, his children. I had no idea he had ever married. I was introduced to them as Song, the eldest, with reddish eyes like polished red jasper, Ying, the middle child, with eyes blue as a mountain lake, and Jun, the youngest, with eyes as green as the jade she was named for. Now, under different circumstances, my relations to these girls would have been less than civil. Considering the nature of my visit, I had to be not just civil, but comforting to the Wu Sisters.

Yes, the Wu Sisters. Po, close your mouth, please; you look like the catch of the day. And Tigress, sheath those claws, you don't need them.

They weren't too pleased to see Ochir and I, of course, especially me. How many times have those three come up against the Furious Five? It surprised me that the youngest, Jun, was actually happy to see me.

"I'm glad you're here," she said. "You all meant a lot to Daddy."

I told her I had no idea he was her relation.

"No one did," Ying said stiffly. "We tried keeping it that way."

Well, no harm in six more people knowing, is there? After all, Xue Shan's reputation was more concerned with the negative things he did later in life; his daughters, by extension, fed off that terrifying reputation, yet no one remembers _why_ the Wu Sisters were so frightening…they had just always been as long as people remembered.

All three of them stood aside and let Li escort Ochir and I to the room where our old friend lay, just on the threshold of death. Entering the room, I can't explain away that inexplicable chill, like I was standing just in front of the Gates of the Underworld. There, in a bed against the far wall, facing out the window at the snow falling upon the Zhou-tong valleys, was Xue Shan.

"Zig?" Ochir had asked.

That snow leopard was…I can't describe it. The closest thing to explain how I felt, looking at him, that weather-beaten, scarred, sagging visage that crowned a skeletal frame, knowing full well that he had once been kind and mischievously playful, was akin to leaving home for years and years, and upon your return, find it defaced, rotting and ready to crumble to its foundation. That's how he looked: like an old house about to crumble to dust.

"Ochir? Hell's teeth," he chuckled, but it quickly turned into hacking coughs and wheezing breaths. Wu Song was quick to her father's side, helping him sit up and pounding on his back to help him breathe. He turned his face to us, and as I had for all those years, I needed to remind myself he was blind. "You're not alone."

"No, he is not," I spoke up.

I couldn't read his expression in the dying light. By his silence, I knew he wasn't too fond to see me either. "Like what you see, Shifu? You were right. All of you were right. All these years, you were right about me…I was a powder keg next to an open flame. And look what it wrought me!"

I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. His three daughters, Song, Ying and Jun, all sat by his bed, the eldest, Song, holding her father's skeletal hand and glaring at me. Those three girls, whom we had faced in battle before…now it made sense. I knew where they had learned their trade, the way they fought, how they had come so close to beating us all those times…

Xue Shan…Zigsa…their father…had trained all three.

I couldn't help but smile, "Yes indeed."

"Don't you dare mock me, old man," he growled.

"I'm not the only old man here, you know…there's five in all, to be exact." I took a step forward and Song was the first to stand in my way, protecting the old cat. "If only you could see what I see, Zigsa," I told him. "Your eldest, Song, was it?"

"I named her for your wife."

I froze, having no idea what to say. The eldest Wu, for her part, was speechless as well, the unspoken question on her face: _you were married_?

"I'm sorry?"

"I decided that, years ago, after Yeying…well…" he paused, coughing again; Wu Ying brought him a cup of water which he sipped slowly before continuing. "I decided, if I ever had a daughter, I'd name her after the sister I never had. My second girl, Ying, is also named for her." He paused, then exhaled deeply, "I loved her, you know."

"I know," I nodded.

"We all did," Li said for the first time in over forty years.

Shan smiled, only a little. "I knew it the day when my eldest girl took her first steps…that was the same day she threw her first punch, too."

"Don't tell me…"

He pantomimed getting hit in the jaw with a satisfied smirk. "Pow, knocked out some bratty toddler's front teeth."

"That sounds like her," I chuckled. Slowly, I saw a smile tugging at the lips of the red-eyed female, fondly remembering.

Shan settled back in bed, Wu Jun pulling the covers up to his shoulders. "Shifu, Ochir, you can come closer, this old cat's lost his bite and his claws a long time ago…" he beckoned his daughters, smiling wryly, "Gave them to my girls."

We approached the bed; Jun offered me a chair, which I refused. All four of us stood, watching over him. He closed his sightless eyes, now milky white with cataracts, when before we could detect the hint of silvery-blue sheen of his irises.

"Shifu, I don't have long, and there's something I need to tell you. I know about the Dragon Warrior—a panda, named Po. Ying found out about two months ago; my girls are disappointed it's not Tai Lung."

"Why's that?"

"We wanted a challenge," Wu Song shot back, and I detected just a bit of a roguish smile she unquestionably inherited from her father.

"A challenge, eh? You'd be surprised," I warned her. When I turned back to Shan, I said, "I had to get over my own disappointment a long time ago. I expected Tai Lung to be the Dragon Warrior, and he failed. I expected Tigress to be the Dragon Warrior, and she failed…"

"Yes!" Wu Ying hissed, but was quickly silenced by a sharp jab to the ribs from one of her sisters.

"But as it turns out," I continued, "It was _I_ who failed _them_."

"We all failed them, Shifu…especially Tai Lung. If I had been…" he shook his head and sighed. "It's my fault, what happened to him."

"You didn't perform the Wuxi finger hold on him, last I checked," Ochir snorted.

"No, before that…long before that. Shifu, I know I should have told you this _years_ ago…I should have been brave enough to tell you the truth, but I was too craven to actually put him into your arms. I could barely face what I did, and have to face you and tell you what happened…"

"What _did_ happen, Shan?" I asked him. I placed my hand on his, to let him know I was there, and that I would listen.

"You have to promise me that this will not change anything, not how you view me, especially not how you view Tai Lung, do you understand?"

"Of course." What else could I say? It had been over forty years since he betrayed us all, and though it hurt, I reiterate: it had been forty years. It still stung, and made it difficult for me to trust anyone, even to this day. Some wounds never heal, and others leave scars that will never go away. I could have finished what I had started, right there in that room, but what was the point? He was already dying, and our quarrels were decades old; to bring it all up was just so irrelevant I wouldn't be able to look at myself. I still hated him, and it was that hate that prevented me from attaining the Dragon Scroll, and that hate tainted Tai Lung, and possibly Tigress, too. I am old, and I am sick of feeling pain. Whatever pain I had experienced was nothing compared to what he had to be going through. Aside from that, I had a feeling that this was something I needed to hear.

"Shifu…" he bit his lip and took in a deep breath, the kind of inhale meant to ward off a sob. "I knew his parents, and so did you. Do you remember when you and Yeying got married, and we met in Zhou-tong? You'd scarcely believe it…I lost it when _they_ got married. Then the Cataclysm happened, and Tai Lee defected with Min Lung to Tibet. The new emperor didn't like that, of course, the son of a bitch."

"Its treason to speak ill of the Emperor," I reminded him.

"Fuck him, that bastard of a wolf is dead, and long live Emperor Xian Xin!" he coughed and gasped for air before he continued. "Besides, what's a dead guy going to do to me? I already know what's going to happen to me after I die…"

"_Daddy_," Wu Song chastised him, gently squeezing his bony shoulder.

"I know, love," he continued. "But do you see it now? Did you ever wonder why Tai Lung looked so familiar? There's your answer: he had an honorable, intelligent man for a father and the most beautiful snow cat in history for a mother. Well, no surprise that once Tai Lee defected with the other snow leopards, emigrated from the empire, I was sent by my employer to teach him a lesson…and I won't deny I had personal reasons, too."

"No…you didn't!" I gasped.

"I killed him," he confessed. "I thought if I couldn't have Min Lung, no one could; he didn't deserve her, but looking back…I didn't deserve her either. I was only supposed to intimidate him, bring him back in chains if need be, but this was under Emperor Rong Lang…I think you remember how awful he was, lasting barely twenty years before I finally assassinated him, the worthless sack of flesh…

"Tai Lee met me in battle, the idiot. He had no training in warfare whatsoever, and I wondered why Min Lung wasn't going to fight me, but as it turns out, Tai Lee had reasons to keep her from fighting. He had left China, and wasn't going back; I would have to do it 'over his cold dead body'. I was an assassin for hire, mostly taking out Rong Lang supporters…so I took him up on his offer. I had gone alone, found them in a small cabin in the mountains. It was just the two of them, I thought. Tai Lee went down easily, then Min Lung came out to fight me…and she went down too. I was as angry at her for abandoning me as I was at him for stealing her away. In the aftermath, when it was still, and I turned to leave…that's when I heard the baby crying."

My heart leapt into my throat. _Tai Lung_.

"_I'm_ the reason he was an orphan," he rasped out. "Sure, I could blame Rong, because he was the true source of my rage, but I could never vilify myself, or live with myself if I did. I found the cub in his cradle, swaddled in bunting, crying his lungs out."

"Why didn't you kill him?" I asked. "You killed his parents without remorse."

"I don't know why," he said. "I suppose, when I touched that baby's face, and I realized what I had done, and whose son he had to be…I had killed the only woman I had ever loved…and now I was about to kill her only child." He fell into a coughing fit again, covering his mouth with his fist. There were tiny spots of blood on his hand when he pulled it away.

"I took him away from there, tried to find someplace to leave him. I almost left him on the steps of an orphanage in that region until I remembered war was going to break out there. He wouldn't have been safe. I owed Min Lung that much—I owed it to her to protect her son. It didn't take much longer for me to figure out where to send him…"

I didn't know how long I had been gripping his hand like that, but my grip tightened immediately.

"I took him to the Valley of Peace. I took him right up the Jade Mountain, and left him outside the palace. I didn't know where else to take him. I thought of leaving a note, or just simply handing him over…but I couldn't face you. If I weren't already blind, I would have blinded myself so I didn't have to look in a mirror…"

I can't remember what else he said to me. Li, Ren and Ochir, you three probably do; but I blanked out. Everything I remembered about that night forty years before, from the child's wail, the rich purple swaddling clothes with their familiar design…it turns out I was right. The fabric used to blanket the infant Tai Lung had the same traditional clan designs of the snow leopards of Dragon's Lair. That was why I named him Tai Lung, after all.

But here was the proof of it. I thought back to my musings that Tai Lung had Min Lung's eyes, which made me suspect Shan was somehow the father; I had been both disappointed and relieved that Tai Lung didn't look like Xue Shan when he got older.

I suppose he did look like his father, the brave man and brilliant engineer I'd met only once, and that brought me more peace than I could have predicted. Now I knew where he got his tenacity, his sharp mind; though his father had been the runt of the litter, he more than made up for it, just as his son had made up for his humble beginnings.

Even more remarkable was…well, you three don't know, but my students do. I might as well repeat it for clarity. After Yeying's passing, and after all of you left, I felt abandoned, like all my joy had been stripped away. It hurts to think about it now, but back then, I was willing to end my life. In fact, I was going to end it the night the cub was left at our door. I felt alone, utterly alone, and I had allowed my grief to consume me so much that I wanted to join my wife in the afterlife. Before the knife fell, was when I heard the baby's cry.

For many years I thought Tai Lung had saved my life that night. As it turns out, I owed my life to Xue Shan all along.

"Gods, say something," he snapped. "I always hated when you got silent like this."

"I'm sorry…it just brought up a lot of memories."

"Good ones, I hope."

"Yes," I answered. "Many good ones." I should have been furious at Shan for what he did to Tai Lee and Min Lung, and all the innocent people over the years. But at the same time, he had given me my greatest joy, but more than that…a reason for living.

So I forgave him.

* * *

"We all did," Flying Rhino said. "I mean, hell, I stood by his side in some of the worst skirmishes I've ever fought. He had my back for years, and he was the best friend I ever had."

"Despite his faults, he was still a warrior by every sense of the word," Dong Li nodded. "You all can think what you want, but we _knew_ him."

"Every warrior has darkness in them," Ren explained with an intense gravity to his words. "Everyone is like the moon: they have light and dark. He made mistakes, but don't we all?"

"Most of our mistakes don't involve killing innocent people," Tigress pointed out, a bitter bite on her tongue.

"Dear gods, she _is_ a lot like her!" Dong Li snickered. He explained, "Forgive me, but that sounded much like something Yeying would have said."

"Do you think that if she were still alive," Crane started, "That none of this would have happened?"

"Maybe," Ochir shrugged. "But who's to say?"

"If there's one thing this journey has taught me," Shifu concluded, "It's that a life lived with regret is no life at all. I spent most of my life regretting the things that happened, the things I should have done and never did, and the things I had done that I should not have. Regret is a poison. This trip is something I needed to suck the poison from all the wounds…"

"I see what you're sayin'," Po started slowly. "That there's no point in regret, if the past is in the past. Its done, can't do anything about it. Might as well live for today and look forward to tomorrow, right?"

"Yesterday is history," Dong Li started, earning a smile from his lupine partner, who continued,

"Tomorrow is a mystery."

"Today is a gift," Flying Rhino smirked at Shifu, who finished, "That is why it is called the present."

"An Oogway classic," Dong Li said in fond remembrance.

"What happened after you forgave him?" Po asked, bringing them back to the story.

Shifu closed his eyes slowly, as if resigning himself to delivering even worse news. The three other old men bowed their heads.

"He…well, we set him up for bed. His daughters took care of most of it," Shifu began. "They got him some water, pulled out more blankets, things like that. Wu Jun stated she was going to get his pain medication for him…" the red panda took in a shaky breath, his voice low, "and he told her 'There's no need, there's no pain tonight'. We made sure he was comfortable, the girls kissed him good night, and we wished him well, even told him we would see him in the morning. We never did, because he never woke up."

Jian Ren took advantage of the quiet in the room. "We had to rush the funeral, unfortunately. If we waited any longer, the ground would have frozen, and we would have had to wait until spring."

"Shan had waited for peace long enough," Ochir stated, "And I wasn't going to let him wait any longer. There was this hill, overlooking the southern Zhou-tong village, and Tai Lung Shan…"

"The spot where we were named masters," Dong Li smiled, albeit sorrowfully. "We thought he'd like that. The _feng shui_ was good for that place. We burned money and offerings for his spirit to use in the afterlife, burned incense with our prayers."

"It was extremely hard," Shifu sighed, looking alarmingly frail in his grief. "I didn't think I could make it through. I don't think I would have if my friends had not been there with me."

Dong Li smiled, standing to wrap his arms around his old friend and chuckling, "You stupid ass, didn't I tell you decades ago that you would never have to stand alone?"

Po and the Five sat back as Ren and Ochir also brought Shifu into their brotherly embrace, and allowed these men—these friends—to have their moment. This was something that had been denied them for too long. Each member of the Five, and not for the first time, began to wonder if they had the strength in them to prevail if something would tear them asunder. In a way, they each believed that logically they _could_ keep going on, but realistically, they knew they didn't have the strength to be there without their comrades by their side.

Individually, too, they knew that, as strong as their bond was, not a single one of them would be able to stand alone as their master had done for all those years.

* * *

Monkey kept waiting for the explosion. He _knew_ that Shifu would, sooner rather than later, rail into them for shirking their training. Yet three days after he returned home with his old friends…nothing.

It was…well, _remarkable_ was not a strong enough word. That third morning, even with all the fresh snow on the ground, the Five and Po made their own way to the Training Hall to make up for lost time. The snow was waist-deep, but they risked it; facing high snow banks and frigid cold was nothing compared to what Shifu would have in store for them.

When they heard their master's voice outside, they started training even harder to show him they had not slacked off (even when they had).

But he didn't come inside. There were other voices outside, and…laughter? Monkey finally had enough and peeked out the door. Astonished, he called the others over. "You guys aren't going to _believe_ this…"

Six jaws dropped when they looked outside.

Master Flying Rhino, Dong Li, Jian Ren, and Shifu were running about the courtyard…throwing snowballs at each other. Old as they were, they laughed and played like they were children again. The smiles on their faces and the light in their eyes seemed familiar somehow, like they had done this many times before. Indeed, the only thing that led to this recent development was Dong Li idly reminding Shifu of their "tradition" with the first snow of winter.

The fox in question threw a snowball that nailed Flying Rhino in the face; he retaliated with a snowball the size of his torso, flinging it at the two canines, only to earn another snowball right between his unprotected shoulders, flung by Shifu of course.

"Alright, that's it! Shifu, you fluffy-tailed tree rat, you're goin' _down_!" the rhino flung a snowball, which Shifu dodged, and the old-timers realized much too late…

…that the snowball had hit Tigress instead.

The four old men froze, lowering their powdery white weapons in anticipation of what _she_ would do. Additionally, the other five warriors—especially Po—held their breath as they anticipated her reaction.

Tigress was too stunned to say anything, the front of her green robe now cold and wet from the snow melting into the fabric, the powdery flakes hitting the floor in clumps. When she looked up at the old masters, she was…amazed, to see how sheepish they looked. What exactly had Shifu told them about her?

She turned on her master, marching down the stairs and standing face-to-face with a very worried red panda. As she glared down at him, utterly furious, she took in a deep breath; Shifu braced himself.

"You are _so dead_."

"Excuse me? OOF!" Shifu was thrown back several feet by the power behind Tigress' pitched snowball. When he brushed the snow off his face, he fell back on his tail, utterly amazed.

Tigress was smiling.

Tigress was not _just_ smiling, she was _laughing_, laughing in a way he had never heard from her. He had never seen her eyes twinkle like that before, or crinkle up with mirth, and even the flash of her sharp white teeth warmed his heart. He returned the grin, picking himself off.

"Well, Master Tigress, I do believe we—" he held up a perfectly formed snowball "—are at an impasse."

"It would appear so, Master Shifu," she said, crouching down to collect some snow. She cringed when he barked, "WRONG!"

"Wrong?" she asked; his heart broke to see the pain in her expression.

He trotted over, knelt next to her and instructed, "Cup your hands like this, shoulder-width apart, bring together, like picking up a handful of water. Remember the Swallow's Tail technique? Use it to form the sphere…" It was then he realized he had never taught her this lesson. What kind of father was he to have never taught his daughter the correct way to build the Perfect Snowball?

When she was finished, he surveyed her work. "Hmm, not a bad form. But the key to a Perfect Snowball is to see how it hits its intended tar—"

Tigress threw, nailing Flying Rhino so hard he toppled over backwards.

Shifu smirked and laughed, "Well, there you go: the Perfect Snowball."

"So…was that a good throw?" she asked, seeking approval. He looked up at her, saw what she needed—what she had always needed—from him, and smiled proudly at her. But, to keep up appearances—which they both knew needed to be done…for now—he instructed,

"Less like a shot-put next time, more of a pitch, but otherwise, _perfect_." He swore he saw moisture forming in her eyes, but she quickly wiped it away, citing the brightness of the sun reflecting off the snow. He inwardly sighed, accepting it…for now.

"Now," he smirked wickedly at his old friends. "I think its time I introduced all of you to a Jade Palace tradition."

"Gods in Heaven, Shifu!" Dong Li incredulously exclaimed, "They don't _know_?!"

"They will now," Ren grinned, hailing the others, "Come on! Predators versus Prey!"

"Sweet!" Viper replied giddily. She slithered into her wool sweater and perched herself over Ren's shoulders as he showed her his own recipe for snowball nirvana.

"Ochir can be on our team!" Li called as everyone threw on mittens and scarves. The rhino gave Shifu a signal that could only be translated as "You're going down".

"Bring it on, rhino!" he shouted back. He gathered his team: Mantis, Crane, Monkey, and Po, and all five huddled together. "Alright, we're outnumbered but what we lack for that, we make up in speed…yes, Po?"

"Uh, actually, Master? I'm not exactly fast…"

"Oh I know. You're going to take one for the team."

"I'm wha—aww, man!" he groaned when he realized what the old master was planning.

"Do we have an attack plan?" Monkey asked. Shifu thought for a moment, then looked over his shoulder at the "predator" team, who were also huddled, plotting their battle plans.

"Hm…well, fortunately, we also have another advantage. My friends don't know your weaknesses…" then he smiled wickedly. "But I know theirs."

"He thinks he knows our weaknesses," Dong Li instructed the two females, "but we're going to give him a nasty surprise. Are either of you two familiar with the Blue Mountain Fake-out?"

"No, better idea," Ren said. "Tigress, you know anything about the Twin Weasel masters?"

"Somewhat."

"You remember their signature attack?"

"Yes, of course, sir. Viper and I practiced that when we were—" she stopped, then she and the serpent shared a wicked grin. "Gotcha."

"Shifu goin' down?" Flying Rhino asked.

"Shifu's going down," she replied, bumping fists with him.

* * *

Hours later found the ten masters completely and utterly exhausted from their intense snowball play. Shifu even noted how his students used kung fu even with snowballs as weapons. Had he known that sooner, he would have employed that instead of the usually harsh winter mountain training. It was surely the most fun he'd had in years.

Every one of them was cold, soaking wet, breathless and exhausted, but it was worth it. Shifu had finally heard Tigress laugh for the first time since she was a child. Tigress had finally had the father-daughter moment with her master that she had always craved. The rest of the Five had finally discovered the side of their master they had only known from his own memory.

And Po had finally defeated Tigress at her own game.

Left as Team Prey's sacrificial lamb, Po surprised Tigress and Viper when he served up a snowball the size of his stomach, taking Viper out with one blow; she had pulled herself from the snow, shivering and shaking and shrieking "COLD! Cold! That's cold!" Tigress fought on for her fallen comrade, launching snowball after snowball at Po, who miraculously dodged each one. He even caught one of hers, swung it around, and hit her in the chest. Not to be deterred, Tigress threw another, hitting his shoulder; he grabbed a handful of snow and pulled the dirtiest trick of all…by putting it all down the back of her shirt.

He didn't think her squeals could reach such a high pitch.

But now that the battle was over—and Team Prey the victors!—they each made the executive decision to call it a day. Even if Team Predator called for a rematch, claiming Team Prey won unfairly. In truth, the victory was by proxy: they had been outnumbered and outclassed until the bunnies from Po's beginner's kung fu class showed up unexpectedly, effectively _creaming_ the competition.

In the end, Flying Rhino got what he wanted; seeing Shifu get hit with twenty snowballs simultaneously thrown by children between the ages of seven and ten—not to mention getting nailed by his adult students, too—was well worth it.

It was much later that night, after Po had served dinner and everyone was now resting in the main hall, that the panda received a very unexpected visitor.

"Need some help?"

He turned to the doorway, finding Shifu standing there. He had changed out of his usual brown robe, and was wearing a hunter green one in its stead, and on his face he wore a hopeful smile.

Po returned the smile, "Yeah, you can dry the dishes, if, you know, if you want."

The master nodded and pulled over a chair to stand on, accepting a clean dry cloth from the larger panda. They began this chore in perfect silence except for the clinking of dishes and teacups. Po saw Shifu out of the corner of his eye, the red panda making numerous attempts to say something, but thought better of it and kept his silence. Po, naturally, couldn't stand silence.

"Something on your mind?"

Shifu sighed, stacking the bowls carefully. "I know I said to never live with regret, but there are times when…" he stopped himself and tried again. "I wanted to apologize to you. Some of the things I wrote about you were…well, they were very unkind, and extremely unfair."

"Hey, c'mon, I know you didn't mean any of it. You were mad that Tigress didn't get the scroll, and I was…well, I was a big fat…"

"Panda, I am trying to have a moment here. Do you mind?"

"Sorry."

"Look," he sighed, "I suppose I had many reasons for writing the memoirs in the first place. Part of it has to do with my age. I'm getting older and I may not have much time left; aside from that, what things have I forgotten?

"Secondly, as time passed after Tai Lung's defeat and subsequent defeat, I started to appreciate everything I had…but the Five wanted nothing to do with me, aside from continuing to be my students. You know now that in my struggle to detach myself to keep myself from getting hurt again, I ended up hurting those I cared the most for. I think this trip to see Shan was just what I needed. I needed to be reminded of why I study kung fu, and why I need to change myself, now, before its too late."

"Shifu, the Five _do_ care…"

"Do they? How do you think they'd react if I just suddenly became a Happy Buddha wishing them good fortune and being all smiles and sunshine?" he asked, affixing the Dragon Warrior with a stare.

Po paused, imagining it, then grimaced, "Yeah, I see your point."

"So, you see that it was also a chance to explain myself. Public speaking is something I never quite got over my fear of. If I was going to explain myself to you, it had to be through the written word." He chuckled mirthlessly. "It seems I'm still too cowardly to answer to myself in front of my students. My years of training taught me nothing; I'm still too proud to admit I made a mistake…many of them."

"Yeah, but if you ask me, it sounds like you just did."

Shifu paused, nearly dropping the plate in his hand from the shock of Po's wise words. Regaining his composure, he finished drying the plate, and set it aside. "If you insist."

"So, uh, I wanted to ask…what happened with the Wu Sisters?"

"Hmm? Oh, well, after the funeral we parted ways. The eldest, Wu Song, is actually rather agreeable when she tries. We stayed long enough to ensure they had our condolences, but there's only so much time you can tolerate with an enemy.

"Before we left, we paid our most respectful goodbyes. I can't tell you what it feels like to help your enemy through such a trying period in their lives, and realize that perhaps you _do_ actually have something in common with them. But Wu Song and I both knew…how would we explain ourselves? How could I suddenly explain to the Five that the Wu Sisters were now our allies? How could the Wu Sisters save face amongst their fellow assassins by calling us friends?

"Wu Ying and Wu Jun didn't like the idea very much—we'd gotten quite attached to each other over those few days—but Wu Song and I agreed that it was best to pretend that it had never happened. We agreed that as soon as we left Zhou-tong, nothing would have changed. They would still be the infamous female assassins that have even the Emperor quaking in his shoes, and I would still be the master of the enemies _they_ secretly feared."

"So what, the fact you knew their dad means nothing?"

"Oh no, it means everything. They assured me that when I die, it will not be by their hands."

"And that's supposed to make you feel better?" Po asked skeptically.

"One less enemy for me to worry about," the red panda shrugged. "But I see what you're saying. I intentionally didn't tell the Five about my, ah, 'friendship' with the Wu Sisters. Wu Song intends to keep her word to me, and I intend to do her the same favor. Nothing's changed. Wu Ying will still want to fight Tigress, and Tigress will still want to drop-kick Ying across the province."

They shared a chuckle between them at the thought of both female felines fighting it out…and secretly placed bets.

"Speaking of Tigress…how have you two been?"

"Oh, uh, we've, uh…" Po paused. How _had_ they been? What exactly was their classification? Friends, acquaintances, buddies, something more? The panda inwardly snorted. _Something more, yeah, right…_ But it was hard for him to deny that there had been something, some dynamic that had changed between them. But, considering how Shifu had reacted when Po was caught…staring at Tigress…well, the panda was smart enough not to tell him anything! "We've been good."

"That's it? Just…good?"

"Yeah. Well, Tigress not so much, 'cause she got sick and stuff…"

"Wearing too little layers while training on a cold night?"

"How'd you know?" he asked, perplexed by the master's accuracy.

"Oh, she's done that since she was a little girl. You took good care of her, I wager?" Little did the giant panda know—and Shifu was not about to reveal the true reason behind the question—that this question was a test.

Po blushed a little, "Yeah, I guess…she won't be able to look at soup for a while."

"Ah. She likes wontons, you know." _Now let's see if you were right about your suspicions, Ren…_

Po didn't disappoint, "Oh yeah, she _loves_ them, and tofu cubes wrapped in green tea leaves and boiled with ginger for that nice snappy flavor. She also really likes cinnamon sweet buns, you ever have those? I made them for breakfast one morning and she went _nuts_…"

"Sounds like you're getting along," Shifu said evenly. He was hoping the panda wouldn't catch up on his hesitation. The old master couldn't _believe_ his old friends set him up for this, and yet here he was… "I thought she'd, ah, injure you by now."

"Well, I think I might've deserved it with the chilled peach noodle soup."

Shifu made retching noise deep in his throat. "You made chilled peach soup with _noodles_?!"

"It's a great laryngitis cure!" he professed.

"I'll gladly suffer the sore throat thank you very much."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," the panda replied, sinking another bowl into the soapy water. After another pause, he asked, "Did you really meet Tigress' mother?"

"Sadly, yes. Everything I wrote was true. I won't deny I was nervous, fretful of how she would take that information. No one at Bao Gu knew where she came from or who her parents were. Once I knew what happened…it doesn't surprise me why Oogway's punishment for Tai Lung was so severe. Tai Lung made many children orphans that day."

"But can you forgive him? Tai Lung, I mean."

Shifu sighed, "I _would_ if he showed any remorse. As far as I could see, there was none. I fear those twenty years in prison only enhanced his arrogance, and his hatred for those who had locked him away. I shouldn't have been so proud of him at that battle against Rong Lang's forces; I think all the praise from the villagers, other soldiers and even Oogway was enough to make him believe he not only deserved the Dragon Scroll, but was entitled to it. His pride was ultimately his downfall."

"Yeah, but he worked so hard…"

"As if being the Master of the Thousand Scrolls wasn't good enough? But that is my fault…I was blinded by my longing for peace, and of course my pride. I made Tai Lung believe he was the only one that could bring peace. As it turned out, not too long before he was imprisoned, as you know, Rong Lang was assassinated. Well, I can't tell you how quickly we descended into peace. Emperor Xian Xin restored his great-uncle's dynasty into power. I realize now that Xue Shan played a big role in that—he was the one to kill that damned wolf, thus ushering in a new Golden Age. Given that information…I don't think I can truly hate him anymore."

"But do you hate Tai Lung?"

"Absolutely not; like it or not, he is still my son. I meant what I said that this was no longer his home, and that I was no longer his master. I would have given everything for him to see that I wanted him to have a second chance, to be my son again, before he made another big mistake."

"Killing innocent people and almost killing _you_ kinda skedaddles right past 'mistake'…"

"Oh I know. Point is, I gave him the chance to recant; it's not my fault he chose the path he did. But, he had always been determined, which makes me believe that he's not truly dead…" he finally affixed "the look" on Po, who squirmed under the scrutiny.

"You didn't really kill him, did you?" Shifu asked.

"I defeated him."

"Yes, I got that. You said 'defeated', not 'killed'. If I surmise correctly, Tai Lung is still out there." He paused. "And you're not going to tell me where he is, are you?"

"That's because I don't know. I don't know where he is, or where he went after the Wuxi finger hold." Po fell silent and handed him the last cleaned bowl. Shifu dried it and stacked it with the others, then both sighed. They each had their guesses for the long, drawn-out exhalations, but neither of them had time to voice their concerns. Someone knocked on the doorframe, grabbing their attention.

"Master?" Tigress said, "Forgive me if I'm interrupting, but may I borrow Po for a while?"

Shifu smirked, "Tigress, haven't you given him enough bruises today?"

"I had _no_ idea there was ice in that snowball, I swear!" she said guiltily.

Shifu grinned and chuckled, "Its alright, we were done in here anyway. I'll meet you in the other room. No doubt I have some damage control to do…"

"Damage control, sir?" she asked.

"The problem with memoirs is that it's from the point of view of the writer, and he or she can keep or omit certain, ah, _events_ at their leisure."

"Wait, you think your friends are telling embarrassing stories about you?" Po smiled. Shifu frowned, "Over my dead body, they are!"

Tigress smirked, obviously enjoying having something to hold over her master, "That's funny; I was _just_ in there…"

"What did you hear?" Shifu asked a little too quickly.

She shouldn't have been enjoying this as much as she was, "Something about 'that one time, at kung fu camp'…"

She jumped out of the way as Shifu raced through the door, probably breaking the sound barrier long before science would have acknowledged its existence.

Po was laughing, which she quickly joined in. "That was gold!"

She bumped fists with him, giggling naughtily, "You think that was good? Wait until I tell you the things Shifu_ actually_ did at kung fu camp…"

* * *

The pair had to go outside, because their laughter was too loud. Had Shifu known what both Tigress and Po now knew, he would have surely died of embarrassment. They were walking across the snow-covered arena, their laughter echoing off the stands, both of them holding onto each other to keep themselves from falling.

They stopped laughing long enough to look at each other, then burst back into peals of hoots and giggles. Po, wanting nothing more than to continue to make Tigress laugh, purposefully acted out one of the more embarrassing stories about their master, right down to the impersonation (and the "ears" comment). The animated impersonation resulted in Po slipping on some ice and falling flat on his back, snow flying up in a cloud of powdery white mist.

While Po groaned in pain, Tigress sat down hard, holding her sides and gasping for air, "Th-that was classic!" she said.

"Why's the world spinning?"

"I think the turning around in a circle again and again contributed," she giggled.

"Probably."

"Need some help?"

"Please."

She offered her hand to pull him up, but forgot that he significantly outweighed her. She slipped on some ice and toppled forward, landing right on top of him. Po grinned, cocked an eyebrow and joked, "Wow, this is nice. So why don't you tell me what you really think?"

Tigress smiled and giggled, but it was…shy? Po didn't know how to interpret it, but he knew that he liked this closeness, and not in a 'friends only' kind of way. Before either of them knew what they were doing, their faces came closer together until their lips softly brushed against each other. They paused, then closed their eyes as they locked lips again, Po's hands resting on her waist as she slipped an arm around his neck as the kiss slowly deepened.

A loud knock came from the Palace doors, making both of them jump and sit straight up. Tigress blushed, forcing herself to calm down. "Just a visitor," Po laughed nervously.

Tigress narrowed her eyes, "At this time of night?"

"Wanna go see?"

She nodded, "Just in case, be on your guard…"

They walked together to the doors, and Po leaned down to look through a crack.

"Who is it?" Tigress whispered. Po stood straight and started lifting the wooden beam barring the door. "C'mon, help me out with this. It's some old lady."

"In this weather?" Tigress said, concerned. "She has to be freezing! Here, let me get that…" With her help, they lifted it off and out of the way, and Tigress was the first at the door, opening it and shedding light onto the unexpected guest. "Ma'am?"

The old woman was dressed in thick woolen clothes, wrapping a scarf tightly around her face and rubbing her wrinkled hands together to keep them warm. "Er, hello…can a body still request sanctuary here?" she asked softly.

"Yes of course, please come inside!" Tigress said quickly, ushering her in. "Is there anything we can get for you?"

The woman lifted her face, giving both warriors full view of a pair of almond-shaped sky blue eyes; she answered, "Yes, my husband."

* * *

Shifu sighed wearily, nursing a cup of tea, long since gone cold. Viper topped him off, offering a hopeful look. He returned her smile, albeit sadly, sighing again and looking around the room at his students and friends.

It was blissfully quiet as it tended to be on nights when snow fell. Shifu had always enjoyed the quiet beauty of a snowy night, and in his life, he had many fond memories of spending such nights with the ones he loved.

First his friends, then nights spent with Tai Lung, telling stories. Nights making sure Tigress had enough blankets to keep warm. But his most beloved memories were the ones he shared with Yeying. It was snowy nights like this that he would have given anything—

"MASTER!" Tigress slammed the door open. She looked as Shifu had never seen her, her eyes wild with an emotion he couldn't identify. Instinct told him something was terribly wrong, "What? What? Are we under attack?!"

"No," she said breathlessly. "We have a visitor…"

"You're kidding, at this time of night, in this weather? It's probably just a beggar—send them away, tell them to come back tomorrow."

"Master," Po poked his head in, "I think this is someone you really need to talk to."

Shifu rolled his eyes and shook his head, already feeling weary with the idea of entertaining yet one more guest…but when Po and Tigress stood aside and revealed who their guest was, he froze.

Did his eyes deceive him? Was he dreaming? His jaw dropped, and he barely heard the astonished gasps rising from his friends. He was too bewildered to do anything but stare. Finally, gathering up his courage, he swallowed hard and said,

"Yeying?"

The old woman had shed her scarf and outer coat, staring back at him. Her face was wrinkled from age and stress, her fur mostly white, and there were numerous visible scars on her arms, and a scar on her cheek from branding; anyone who was sent to prison was branded, and it was a scar she obviously wore with shame. But it was her eyes he remembered, those eyes that had the same spark they always had, if slightly dulled. He didn't care how old she was, how many wrinkles or scars there were…she was as beautiful now as he had always remembered.

Yeying took a deep breath, her voice and frail body shaking with fear. She knew this was a bad idea, returning to him after so long. Besides that, how could he possibly forgive her for what had happened? She spoke, her voice wavering,

"I…I don't know how to explain myself. I know I should have sent word, given you some idea I was alive and safe, but so many years, it wasn't safe and I didn't want to endanger you. I'm sorry it's taken so long, but…" tears sprung to her eyes as she confessed, "Rong caught me that night, they imprisoned me for treason, tortured me…there were times I wished they would just kill me and get it over with. The things they did to me…it took all the courage I had left to come here; they ruined me, Shifu, and what husband would take back a wife who was—"

He dashed forward and cut her off, taking her into his arms and kissing her soundly in a way he had not done in forty years. Tears swimming in her eyes, she tentatively wrapped her arms around him, kissing him back. When they finally broke the kiss, Shifu framed her face with his hands, looking deeply into her eyes.

"_I_ would take you back. Do you have any idea how long I waited for you?"

"Shifu, please…please forgive me," she begged as tears ran down her cheeks.

"Forty years," he said, ignoring her plea. "I waited _forty years_. This whole time…I never forgot you, and I never remarried."

This surprised her; she had thought that after all this time, he would have at least remarried and had children of his own. But looking around, she saw no other woman, no children, just six young masters, and her old friends who were staring in awe. "I never thought…you were still my husband," she started crying. "And still are…"

"And I _always _will be…great gods in heaven," he hugged her tightly, tears falling down his face, his voice cracking with emotion. "I missed you."

Yeying hugged him back, crying harder, her voice breaking, "I missed you too, _wo ai_."

The Furious Five stood back to allow the two lovers to greet each other; there wasn't a single dry eye in that room. Tigress didn't even bother fighting it. She leaned against Po, who wrapped an arm around her, sharing a smile with her that could not be mistaken for anything but heart-felt affection. Shifu suddenly cleared his throat, giving the pair a mock-glare; Po got the message and quickly took his arm away.

Shifu turned to his long-lost wife, holding her hands in his, "There is so much to tell you, but first," he looked up and smiled fondly at the tiger, "You need to meet our daughter."

* * *

_Our daughter…_

Shifu sighed as he looked into the Sacred Hall of Warriors. It was late that night, much later, and he could not sleep. Neither could Tigress, apparently, who was dressed in pajamas and wrapped in a warm robe, slowly pacing between the various artifacts, and likely seeing them in a new light, thanks to his memoirs.

The red panda sighed. He didn't want to do this, he _really_ didn't want to, but those two weeks he spent with his old friends had helped him make this decision.

Or, rather, they threatened him with bodily harm unless he finally told her.

Predictably, they also told Yeying about how he had treated Tigress. Despite how she was mistreated in prison for twenty years, and how the cat feared that there were still enemies out to get her, that didn't stop her old water personality from escalating from gentle spring rain to a furious monsoon. She. Was. Pissed. And ordered him to tell her, right now, that very night. Yeying, as Shifu expected and predicted, had kicked him out of bed and threatened to keep him in the doghouse until he treated their daughter with the respect she deserved from a father.

And in order to make sure he lived up to his vow, Yeying, Li, Ren, and Ochir had all gotten out of bed to watch.

"This would be a lot easier without an audience," the red panda muttered. Yeying and Ochir just narrowed their eyes at him. Ren rolled his one good eye and tried to look patient. Li sighed and told him sternly,

"Shifu, I love you like a brother, but you brought this on yourself. I can respect that you didn't want a repeat of Tai Lung, but I remember, years ago, how you vowed to treat your future daughter _better_ than a son. Had we all been here, we wouldn't have allowed this to happen…"

"But that doesn't mean _we're_ at fault," Ren said. "She's not our daughter. Remember, filial duties go both ways, Shifu. You can't expect her to be a good child if you're not a good parent."

"Might as well get this over with," Ochir rumbled. "This is a long time coming. Don't make the same mistake with her that you made with Tai Lung."

Shifu sighed and mutely nodded, and with one last look to his wife, he turned the corner and slowly walked into the hall.

Tigress had stopped in front of the Sword of Heroes, and was lost in her own reflection, in her own thoughts. She didn't know Shifu was there until he was right next to her. She didn't jump in alarm, but there was an unmistakable fear in her eyes as she met his gaze. Somehow, she knew that something was coming…whatever it was. Over his shoulder, she saw Yeying in the doorway, watching, and waiting. Tigress turned her gaze away, focusing on the sword again.

Shifu took a deep breath, and began, "I see you couldn't sleep, either."

Her answer was clipped, short, and quiet. "No, Master, I couldn't. I had a lot on my mind."

"I know. I do, too." He paused, looking up at the Sword of Heroes. "Particularly, how I failed so many people, people that were close to me. I have been a terrible friend, a poor student, and an even worse master. I will not say, however, that I have been a bad father…" he paused, "Because I was never a father to begin with.

"A true father…would never have done the things I have done. Some fathers… strike their children; although I never struck you in anger, the scars I gave you are too deep, and may never go away. In light of that…me saying 'I'm sorry' is as empty as my heart has been."

She didn't say anything, just staring at the sword, arms crossed over her chest. Shifu took in a shuddering breath, swallowed hard, and continued,

"I didn't know until I spoke with Monkey, and with Po especially, how deeply I hurt you. Everything that has happened, every thing you believe…is my fault. I never wanted you to believe I hated you, that you disappointed me. I never wanted you to think I regretted adopting you, that I regretted bringing you into my life. I never wanted you to think I didn't love you. But I see why you _did_ believe that. Po told me that actions speak louder than words…but words are exactly what you need to hear…" he took a moment to clear his throat, and said softly,

"And that is why, finally, I'm telling you that I love you."

It happened so suddenly, Tigress wasn't prepared for it. Tears sprang into her eyes, but she didn't even know she was crying until she felt the hot tears falling onto her crossed arms. Still, she didn't look at him; he saw her distress in the sword's reflection…and his eyes became misty as well.

"I…have always loved you," he said quietly, his voice breaking. "I've loved you from the moment I met you in the orphanage, from the moment I started training you…but I was a stubborn fool, and refused to allow myself to love, to allow myself to get hurt…but that is no excuse. I tried to break the cycle…but I ended up continuing it."

She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths through her nose to stop herself from crying harder.

"I don't expect you to ever forgive me," he said. "_I_ wouldn't forgive me. But I just hope you know, if it's the last thing I ever do…that I _do_ love you, and I _am_ proud of you…and have _always_ been proud of you. And I always will be."

Tigress was silent for a long moment; when she took a deep breath and opened her mouth to speak, Shifu braced himself.

"Do you have any idea how long I waited?" she asked evenly, and as frigidly as the wind howling outside. "Do you have _any_ idea…that when I went to face Tai Lung, I thought that, if I had died in the attempt…that you wouldn't care?"

This struck him like a knife in his heart, and immediately, unabashedly, he started to cry as well.

"Maybe, someday, I will be able to forgive you," she said. "But right now, I'm not strong enough to accept that, Master."

"Tigress for the love of the Jade Emperor, do _not_ call me that!" he cried. "In fact, I _never_ want you to call me that, _ever again_. I don't deserve that respect, especially from you."

"So what shall I call you?" she calmly asked.

"Whatever you desire," he said seriously. "You can call me Shifu, or Fu, as Oogway did when he was cross at me—or…hell, at this point you can call me 'Rat Bastard' and I'll answer to it."

Tigress mulled over this, tears springing anew. "…I don't want to call you any of those things." She finally turned to look at him, and there he saw it, the same fear, the same sorrow he had seen for the first time, when she was just a cub, huddled in the corner of her cell-like room.

"All I've ever wanted to call you," she whispered, "was 'Baba'."

He offered a small, yet hopeful smile through his tears. "Tigress…you never needed my permission to call me that…and you certainly don't need it now."

A sob finally tore through her throat, and she looked away, ashamed that he was seeing her show such weakness.

"Oh Tigress, come here," he gently beckoned.

It was as if they had always been able to do this. Tigress knelt and wrapped her arms around him, crying and hugging him. He wrapped his arms as far as he could around her, gently rubbing her back as he mingled his tears with hers. "Mei Jia…my little butterfly," he whispered.

She sniffed, whispering the one thing she had always wanted to tell him. "I love you, Baba…"

For the first time, she could barely believe she'd heard it; she thought she was dreaming this whole thing, and would wake up any moment. But the pain in her heart was too real to be a dream. And the sincerity and love in his words was too real…

"I love you too, Daughter." And he meant it. She could tell…he meant every word. Shifu gave her a gentle squeeze which she returned. "My little girl…my precious little girl…"

Yeying's eyes were glistening with unshed tears. She looked over her shoulder, at her lifelong friends; all three of them were smiling. Slowly, she smiled as well and stepped away from the door.

"I think we should leave them be for awhile," she addressed.

"Yeah, good idea," Ochir nodded.

"Is he still in the doghouse?" Ren remarked dryly.

"I'm still mad at him," Yeying paused, "But I think I can forgive him."

Li was looking through the doorway, watching father and daughter embracing. Finally, the fox smiled; for the first time in nearly five decades, things were as they were supposed to be in the Jade Palace.

* * *

***

_Three months later._

Yeying stood on the porch that late night—or early morning—overlooking the training area, a thick shawl wrapped around her thin shoulders. The first signs of spring were beginning to show, with little patches of green grass poking through unseasonably late snow. The night still held chilly winds, which made her to clutch the shawl closer around her shoulders.

She smiled as she reflected on the past three months. Shifu had immediately and unquestionably accepted her back. Telling him exactly what had happened to her while in prison made him angry enough to smash one of the…oh, what were those damn things called? Swinging clubs of… _oh forget it_. Not for the first time he cursed Rong Lang's name and wished fervently to be able spit on his grave (as it was, the wolf's corpse had been chopped up and the pieces burned after being paraded through the capital with much fanfare. She had been there to witness that).

For the first time in forty years, they slept in the same bed, in each other's arms. It was as if they had never been apart. It had been as natural as kissing him, hugging him, like they had been doing it for…oh goodness, it would be fifty years come the end of summer! _Fifty years, heaven help me!_ She sighed.

He had changed so much, she knew, but she had changed as well. She no longer saw herself as the confident, vivacious young woman she had been; she was withered and old, and terrified of someone coming back to do her harm. Though she had returned to the Jade Palace, a place where she had always been at peace, she still had nightmares. Though no one had been out to hurt her for well over twenty years, she still never trusted a stranger. No matter how hard she, her husband, or their old friends tried to help her, those old fears still lingered.

If there was one thing Yeying could safely say, she was not only happy to be welcomed back into Shifu's life, but to find that she had children as well! Shifu's students…oh, she loved them immediately! Monkey and Viper were such sweethearts, and Crane—such a good boy—well, his mother raised him right. Mantis, she was happy to see, was not afraid to tell bawdy jokes to get her to laugh; she was grateful he did it just for her benefit. And Tigress…

The cat smiled fondly as she thought of her daughter. Tigress was as close to a daughter as she would ever know…and she loved her immediately. Shifu had told her the whole story of how he came to adopt her: as a result, Yeying refused to call her daughter by her "master name"; instead, she called her by her childhood name, Mei Jia. Beautiful Butterfly; it fit her perfectly. Mother and daughter immediately clicked, and where one was, the other was usually close by. Both women gave the other the things they craved, and renewed purpose.

She looked up to the bunkhouse, seeing a light in the kitchen and smiled fondly, knowing there was only one person who would be up at that hour.

Po Ping, such a good boy, and so good for her beautiful little girl; the cat couldn't have asked for a better potential son-in-law. Panda and tiger decided to wait until New Year's to embark on their official relationship, which gave Shifu plenty of time to warm up to the idea. That didn't mean Po escaped the Overprotective Father routine, but he had an easier time than any other male would have.

He was good for her, she was good for him, and that made Yeying happy. They brought out the best in each other: he made Tigress laugh; she gave him confidence in his kung fu. He cooked all her favorite meals and she baked for him, a little known talent of hers that he helped cultivate. They had already moved into the same room with one another (and Shifu had grudgingly allowed it), but truth be told, neither cat nor red panda had ever seen a couple so in love.

Well, except for themselves, of course.

A rustling in the branches above her head alerted her, her ears perking and blue eyes flicking up to the ancient oak tree. She raised her hand and beckoned the visitors down. Three pairs of pawpads gracefully landed on the cobblestones in front of the Tonkinese cat, who crossed her arms again and stared down the three other females.

"You're late."

"You'll excuse us for that," the leader said tersely. "Getting into this valley isn't as easy as you said it would be."

"I expected better from the best assassins in China. _Especially_ if those assassins are Zigsa's daughters."

Wu Song narrowed her red eyes, obviously feeling the sting of the insult. "You want to conduct business or not?"

"Why else would I have called you here? Did you find him?"

Wu Jun nodded. "He was where you said he would be—we took him in, back to Daddy's house. We left him there. We're paying this snake doctor good money, but he wants more."

"He'll get his," Wu Ying said ominously, unsheathing her claws to buff them on her shirt.

Yeying snorted, tossing a bag nearly bursting with coins in Wu Jun's direction. "Just pay him and send him away when he's done…that should be enough to cover everything."

"You sure? He said he'd need to stay a little longer," Wu Jun asked, critically eyeing the small bag. "What if he demands more?"

"He won't," Yeying said furtively. "I met with you to develop this transaction, and true to my word, I never back out on a deal."

"Speaking of," Wu Ying spoke up, crossing her arms, "When do we get our share?"

"Remember where you found him?"

The Wu sisters nodded.

"There's a box buried in the trunk of that oak tree—you'll need to hack around the wood to get to it. The contents are antiques, heirlooms, worth hundreds, and more than enough compensation for your trouble."

Wu Song pursed her lips. "Is that all?"

"No." Yeying pulled something out from her shawl and tossed it to the eldest sister, who caught it one-handed. The female snow leopard gaped. "Are you kidding me? What the hell is _this_?"

"I want you to take it to him."

"Why? This ratty old thing? It's worthless!"

"Not to him, it isn't," the cat said mysteriously. Wu Song arched an eyebrow in bewilderment, staring at the old stuffed panda bear toy in her hand. She rubbed her gloved thumb over the bear's button eyes, and suddenly, the once-dull orbs now shone in the starlight, sparkling ever so slightly.

"I don't get it…" she confessed, tossing the bear to her sister Jun. "But if your pay is as good as you say it is, then we'll do as you say."

"Thank you." She nodded. "Bear first, payment last. I'll know, girls. I'll _know_."

"Yeah, yeah," Wu Ying rolled her blue eyes, "We know."

"Oh, and girls?" Yeying asked as a parting shot. "Next time, try taking the path through the mine, not over the mountain—you'll get into the valley with less trouble."

The sisters blinked in alarm. Yeying smirked in triumph. As the sisters warily backed away from the seemingly psychic cat, Yeying heard Wu Jun ask her sisters: "How does she _do_ that?"

Yeying sighed and turned around to crack open the door to the training hall. "They're gone, you can come out."

Shifu snuck through the door and looked out into the direction the Wu sisters went. "So he's safe?" he asked, hiding his hands within his sleeves.

She nodded, "As far as I know. The Wuxi finger hold must have done more damage than you thought."

"Po did say he tried to go easy on him."

The feline smiled, her blue eyes sparkling, "Oh I know. That pure heart and gentle soul are earmarks for the Dragon Warrior. That's one of the many reasons why I'm glad he and our little girl are together. Which reminds me…when am I going hear wedding bells?"

Shifu groaned, not wanting to think about it. "Don't change the subject…"

"Who's changing it? I thought we were on the subject of our children."

Shifu fell silent; Yeying adjusted the shawl around her shoulders. "Does anyone else know?"

He shook his head, offering her his hand. "I don't think so, not exactly. I think they suspect he's still out there, somewhere. It's very likely the villagers and the Five know Po could never kill someone outright."

"And I'm glad he didn't. I've gotten to know my daughter quite well. I'd like to get to know my son, too." Yeying smiled, gripping her husband's hand. It was still as strong as it had been the day of their wedding.

"So…it doesn't bother you, the things he did?" he asked.

"Of course it bothers me; I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't concerned," she said, slowly walking back to the bunkhouse, hand in hand with him. "But despite his mistakes, you still love him, and though I've yet to meet him, I love my son as well. What kind of mother would I be if I didn't?"

The red panda nodded, walking in step with her. "You want us to reconcile, I suppose?"

"I don't expect it. You have always been rather stubborn. But, I suppose that you will come to forgive him…eventually. The pieces are on Tai Lung's side of the game board now; it's up to him to make a move."

"You think he'll come back," he stated.

"Someday," she sighed. "He may still be the villain, or he may be a changed man, but it is too early to tell. As it is, I'm debating still using the Wu Sisters as intermediaries—other than betraying your trust, those girls will bleed me dry at this rate."

"You know of my relationship with the Wu sisters; it is no betrayal at all. Now, if only you told me where he was…" he began to offer.

"You know I won't ask you to do that," she smiled. "As much as I appreciate the offer, sadly, I think you're the last person he'd want to see."

"But you'll keep in contact?"

"It's a mother's duty after all, and I aim to make sure my son gets the treatment he deserves _as_ my son."

Shifu thought about this for a moment…then smirked, "So…when you finally meet him, you're going to make him cut his own switch, aren't you?"

Yeying let out a laugh, "You're damn right I will!"

* * *

***

_Zhou Tong, two weeks later._

Far away from the Jade Palace, high in the western mountains in the bordering province, three shapes trudged through the melting snow up to a tiny house. The house stood atop a sugarloaf hill that overlooked the valley below, which had long ago hidden any evidence of the rice farming village that had existed long before the travelers' time. As they plodded closer, they saw lanterns shining in the windows like tiny beacons, lighthouses to warn passerby of incoming threats, but also the hope of a safe haven for those heading their way.

The leader of the three shapes sighed and grumbled, "Damnit, I _hate_ winter…"

"Song, we're _snow_ leopards," Wu Ying reminded her.

"Shut up," the eldest Wu grumbled.

The Wu sisters finally made it to the front door of the small one-story house, the eldest slamming her fist against the door while her sisters huddled against the roaring wind. A latch was lifted and the door swung inward, admitting the wet and frozen assassins.

"Thanks, Borte," Wu Song nodded. Borte, the Lady of Mongolia, wife of Master Flying Rhino, and dear friend of the late Master Oogway, only nodded at the girls before slamming the door shut against the still frigid wind. "Welcome back, girls. Your trip went well?"

"Well enough. How's the patient?" Wu Song asked as she and her sisters swept into the small house. They shed their snow-covered clothing and reached for the offered dry _qipao_ the falcon had left out for them. Borte handed out mugs of hot tea as well before reclaiming her seat at the kitchen table in that front room. The Mongolian falcon stared out the window as she composed her thoughts, and as the Wu Sisters changed into house robes.

It was strange, she thought, why Yeying had bothered to bring these girls into their plan. Strange…until it was revealed just who their father had been. Still, as much as Borte was loathe admitting, it _was_ Xue Shan whom Yeying went back for that terrible night and, whatever agreements the two felines had made, apparently this was a part of their vow to each other…whatever that was.

When Borte had finally found the female feline a few months ago, after four long decades, alive and well but horribly traumatized, it was the falcon's first instinct to take her to Oogway. Yeying had refused, citing that someone they knew needed help. And _that_ someone was the patient who had earned Wu Song's curiosity…

"He's better, been performing well in physical therapy while you were gone." Borte smiled. "Did you get the goods?"

Wu Ying tightened the belt around her blue robe and slammed a small chest onto the tabletop. Opening it, she displayed heaps of gold and silver coins, strings of freshwater pearls and jade beads, and jewelry so exquisite that even an Empress would feel unworthy of such beauty. The female falcon snorted and eyed the youngest Wu. "I meant the gifts from Yeying."

Wu Jun thought about it for a moment, then her eyes brightened up with recognition as she rummaged around her travel pack. "Oh yeah! Yeah, we got it…she gave us this," she showed off the old panda bear toy. "Not sure why, though; it doesn't look like its worth much…"

Borte's eyes widened for a minute with recognition, then slowly, she smiled fondly, her sharp eyes suddenly very far away.

"Miss Borte?" Jun asked.

The falcon shook herself out of it. "Sorry, dear. He should be up."

"Does Mohinder need our help with anything?" Wu Song asked.

Borte shook her head. "Not any longer. He's managed to get him to take his medicine without being threatened."

Wu Song smirked; that old cobra had, over the years, grown to an impressive thirteen feet in length. Doctor he may have been, and though his bedside manner improved, he wasn't above threatening patients with a well-aimed bite if they didn't cooperate.

"So what does he do instead?" Ying asked.

Borte smiled wickedly. "_I_ threaten him."

Jun held back on a giggle as she adjusted the collar of her green _qipao_. "Sweet, I'll go give this to him while he's still awake."

"All right. Dinner's ready, so why don't you take some to him?"

The youngest snow leopard shrugged, "'Kay," and started grabbing bowls and mugs to place on a tray. She licked her lips in anticipation; Mohinder happened to be an excellent cook too, and it looked like his Extra-Spicy Mumbai Curry Delight was on the menu, along with chickpeas and a flat floury thing called _naan_. Jun placed everything on the small tray and safely placed the little bear between the tall mug of water and a bowl of dim sum, in case the patient refused the curry. It might have been her imagination, but the bear's black button eyes seemed to be shining just a little brighter…with hope?

While her sisters settled down for delicious curry, she made off to the short hallway that connected the four rooms of the house. She slowed down and stopped just outside the room where her father, Xue Shan, had passed into the next world. Jun's ears fell back against her head as she thought about that morning, waking up to Song's heart-rending wails, having found their father—their Daddy—cold in his bed. She frowned a little, missing him already; Master Shifu had been surprisingly sympathetic, and didn't even turn her away when she needed a hug. Perhaps Song had been wrong about the old red panda, the youngest Wu thought. Strange those whole four days had been, but…she wouldn't have traded it for anything.

She continued down the hall, stopping just outside of the next room, biting back a giggle as she heard the patient swearing,

"_Damn_ you, man! Are you _trying_ to kill me?"

Mohinder's thick Indian accent rose above the patient's (after a loud _thwack_ that indicated the cobra had struck his patient in annoyance). "Boy, do not make me sic Borte on you! Now shut your mouth!"

"I am forty years old for fuck's sake, I don't need—"

After another _thwack_, and a cry that made the female snow leopard giggle at the patient's expense, Mohinder decried, "Such language on you! I don't remember Shifu being so crude…"

Wu Jun knocked gently. The door opened a minute later, Mohinder's scaly face peeking out. "My eyesight is no longer as good as it used to be—which one are you?"

"I'm Jun, the youngest."

"Ah, good, good. Very well, he will not cooperate right now. Maybe a full belly will do him some good, the stubborn son of a…" the cobra muttered, grumbling irritably. Jun's green eyes crinkled with mirth as she followed him in, nearly tripping over his coils. Luckily she didn't have far to walk, setting the tray down on the nightstand, then sitting on the edge of the bed. She smiled at the patient, "Hey big guy, how you feeling?"

"Brilliant, bloody fantastic. Where did you lot run off to?"

Jun shrugged it off, "An errand. We brought you something. It's from your mom."

"From my m…"

Then his eyes settled on the tray…and on the bear. He didn't move for a long while, absolutely stunned at the sight of that tiny panda, velveteen fur yellowed and grayed with age that seemed to stare back at him, begging him to hold it again. Jun watched silently as the patient slowly, hesitantly, reached over and wrapped his hand around the toy and picked it up, bringing it closer for inspection. His thumb rubbed off some dust that had settled on the black button eyes, his hands holding the well-loved toy like a priceless relic. It may have been a trick of the light, but those button eyes appeared to be shining again…almost with hopeful recognition.

"Are you okay?" Jun asked quietly.

His golden eyes flicked up to her green ones, and Jun bit her lip to hold back a gasp.

He was crying.

Tai Lung was crying.

Tai Lung did not cry. He was the Master of the Thousand Scrolls, the one so feared after a single rampage they built a prison just to hold him, and _only_ him. He was the fiercest, boldest, most dedicated student of kung fu ever to live, and deserved the Dragon Scroll more than anyone else. Tai Lung was the ultimate definition of masculinity, and yet at the sight of this old child's toy…he was crying.

"What's wrong?" she pressed. Mohinder got the hint and made a hasty exit, leaving the two snow leopards alone. Jun looked down at the bear, limp in the male's shaking hand.

"I thought…" he shakily whispered, sucking in a breath, "I thought he'd done away with it…thrown him away…" Tai Lung shook his head, looking very much like a man who had lost everything in a storm, only to find a single keepsake in the rubble of his home. "I thought he hated me."

Jun looked back up at him, then glanced down at the bear. Wordlessly, she leaned forward on her knees and wrapped her arms around the felon. She smiled when she felt his arms encircling her as well, clutching her as if she were a life-size teddy bear. (Jun had her belief that Tai Lung would have made the perfect teddy bear himself, if one didn't mind the claws. As it was, she was the only Wu sister he allowed to get close to him).

She pulled away only long enough to shift on the bed, curled up right next to him, hip to hip. She smiled at the bear, her green eyes shining. "So…I guess Miz Yeying was right. That little guy _is_ priceless, isn't he?"

Tai Lung sniffed, wiping away tears in the most dignified way he could, setting the bear on his lap. Finally, after a long, thoughtful look…he smiled. He remembered the day he got it, a gift from "Uncle Ochir and Aunt Borte", and how that bear was his constant companion, even (though he wouldn't admit it even under torture) up until the day he was denied the scroll. And the day when Shifu had decided to train him…

_Just watch, Tai Ping, someday, I'm gonna be just like my daddy and learn kung fu too! See, I can do it!_

And he could. Gods help him, he could. He had been plotting his revenge with that kung fu as soon as he was ready, but now that his dearest, oldest, and only friend had been returned to him, and was looking at him like that…how could he? Shifu's apology and the exclamation of his love for his stu—no. No…his _son_. This bear, Tai Ping, was proof. Tai Lung had once been his son…was still his son…and would _always_ be his son.

Tears sprang anew, but he didn't bother to brush them away. He smiled a little when Wu Jun wrapped her arms around his middle, offering what little comfort she could give. "I guess bringing that to you was a bad idea…"

"No," he croaked. "No…this is exactly what I needed." He wrapped his free arm around her, hugging her closer and kissing the top of her head, "Thank you."

Jun smiled and nuzzled him with a soft purr, happy to finally see him in better spirits. Though she may never know the true significance of that little bear, she figured she didn't need to. That smile she saw on Tai Lung's face was all she would ever need.

Tai Lung smiled at the bear and finally put him aside, wiping away his tears. Jun took the opportunity to shift, straddled his thighs and reached for the bowl of dumplings. "Alrighty then! Let's get you fed!"

"Jun, I can feed myself…" he smiled at the female's clowning around.

She picked up a dumpling between a pair of chopsticks and grinned mischievously. "I know, but this is _much_ more fun."

Tai Lung just chuckled and leaned forward to kiss her cheek. She giggled as he reached his hand out and placed it on the back of her head, pulling her closer for a kiss. She gleefully relented, purring softly against his lips, her tail curling around his in an obvious show of affection.

On the end table, Tai Ping's button eyes watched the two purring snow leopards, noted the cheeky childlike innocence of the female and the warm light shining in the male's eyes as he looked at her, a light that had not been there for years. The toy panda bear hadn't seen such a peaceful, happy light His Boy's eyes for a long time.

Slowly, miraculously, that bear's eyes shone brighter than ever, and that sewn-on smile appeared to grow wider. Things were the way they were supposed to be.

* * *

***

_The Jade Palace, 18 months later_

He'd been sent down to the village to pick something up for his wife. Shifu had made good on his promise to make every anniversary more special than the last, and this year was no different. He patted the rolled-up wall scroll in his hands and smiled as he made his way up the steps to the Jade Palace, the summer sun setting on the horizon. Oh yes, he remembered their tradition, and this one would never die.

When he finally reached the gates, Zeng was waiting for him.

"It came in," the goose said.

"It certainly took long enough!" Shifu huffed. "What where they waiting for, the tree to die to make the paper?"

The palace messenger shrugged. "Not my place to know. They're all waiting for you in the dormitory, sir."

"Good, thank you." Shifu inwardly grumbled. Why on earth had it taken so long to get this from the publisher? He'd been told by Emperor Xian Xin—who had graciously financed the publication of the red panda's memoirs—that the first tomes would be ready by that spring. It had easily been a month later when it finally arrived. That was the deal: the first bound volume would be delivered to the Jade Palace to be kept in the library, for all generations to come.

Shifu found the dormitory dark, but for a single light in the kitchen. Perhaps Zeng had been mistaken, and the Five were still training? Perhaps the red panda's friends and wife were otherwise occupied? When he made it to the kitchen, however, he found a note on the table: _Meet us in the tea room._ Sighing, he tucked the wall scroll under his arm and limped over to the tea room, finding its door cracked open. Pushing against it, he was surprised to find that—indeed—they had been waiting for him.

"SURPRISE!"

His tail frizzed up like a cat's from the shock. He did nothing as ostentatious as grip his heart in shock, but he was clearly surprised. His old friends, his wife, and his students had crowded into the tea room, where much of the memoir's reading was done, and which was now festooned with red and gold decorations. Dead center in the room stood Tigress and Yeying, the two felines holding an impressive cake between them.

"Happy Birthday, dear," Yeying beamed.

Shifu paused, then slapped a hand to his forehead. "That's _right_! I can't believe I _forgot_!"

"With age comes senility. You're _how_ old now?" Dong Li teased.

"Watch it," Shifu growled. "You're my age too, you know."

"You're only as old as you feel…but in your case, you're ancient."

"Just for that, no cake for you," the grand master joked. Li grinned and punched his shoulder before hugging him.

"So…just how old _are_ you, anyway?" the fox pressed.

"I reiterate: no cake."

Po beckoned the master to his seat. "Me and Tigress made your favorite—or, well, what Miz Yeying said was your favorite."

Shifu smiled at the panda and tiger, "A dual achievement, I presume?"

Po and Tigress shared a coy smile between them as they placed the birthday cake in front of their master. "You could say that…"

Shifu arched an eyebrow, but decided it was prudent just to say nothing. He looked at Yeying, who was beaming as she placed just seven and a half candles in the cake—one candle for each decade he had lived—and he said, "You know, I honestly thought today was our anniversary…"

"Oh you didn't!" she laughed. "Oh well, at least you're prepared for next week…"

"What?!"

"Kidding!"

Shifu scowled amid the laughter, but shook his head with a wry smile when Li punched his shoulder. "Very funny…"

Viper and Mantis came forward, holding a large wrapped package between them. "We thought of the perfect gift, Master," the serpent.

"What would that be?"

"Open it," Yeying pressed, entwining her arm with his. Shifu smiled and kissed her cheek, allowing his students to place the present in front of him. He ran his hand over the delicate red rice paper, then carefully began to unwrap the gift. When the paper finally tore away, he paused in shock, then grinned.

"Hah! I thought as much!"

It was an impressive leather-bound book, inscribed with specialized designs of dragons in jade green paint, and the gold embossed title: "Memoirs of a Master: An Autobiography by Grand Master Shifu".

"First edition, too," he beamed.

"Look inside the cover," Po pointed.

The tightened leather crackled slightly when Shifu opened the book to the flyleaf and inner cover. The inside was lined in cream-colored paper, and on the flyleaf and cover…were names, messages and signatures.

Shifu grinned, running his fingers over the characters as he read:

_To my husband on this historic birthday: seventy-five, can you imagine? May we have twenty-five more years together, _wo ai_. You have always been in my thoughts and prayers, and will continue to be, as long as we both shall live, and beyond. I love you, have always loved you, and always will._

_Yours forever, your wife,_

_- Yeying_

Next to his wife's signature was Li's:

_Congratulations on making it this far! May you live many more years! What a life it's been, but knowing you, you don't regret a thing. I know I don't._

_Your eternal friend,_

_- Hu Dong Li_

Below Li's message was Ren's; unsurprisingly, he echoed his father's sentiments:

_It goes without saying that you're too stubborn to die. If you don't live to be 100, I'll be very surprised. You will never know how grateful I am for your friendship to My Li, and how grateful I am to have known you, and been someone to trust._

_- Jian Ren_

Above Yeying's message, was Ochir's:

_It's been a hell of a life. Congratulations on making it this far, you pseudo-erudite cretin._

_Ochir/Flying Rhino and Borte_

Shifu laughed out loud, making Ochir grin knowingly. Yeying cast him a look, "What did you write?"

Ochir chuckled, "He knows what I wrote."

Shifu smirked and read on, finding his students had also given their well wishes.

_Master,_

_It has been an honor to know you, and an honor to be your student._

_- Viper_

_Master Shifu,_

_Thanks for not killing us for all those times we left to fight without your permission. Though I would have tried to die with as much dignity as possible, I swear. You're a swell guy._

_- Mantis_

_Master Shifu,_

_I echo Mantis' sentiment. And thank you for giving me a home after the Li Da Academy; it is a kindness I'll never forget._

_- Crane_

_Shifu,_

_Thank you for the good times, and also the bad. We all learned a lot from you, more than you'll ever know._

_- Monkey_

After the Five's messages, he read one that warmed his heart. It was from Tigress, whose relationship with him had improved in leaps and bounds since their reconciliation almost two years before.

_Baba,_

_We may not have always seen eye-to-eye, but I'm glad to know what I know now. I've always strived for honor, but the greatest honor is having you for a father. I love you, Baba._

_Love, your daughter,_

_Mei Jia_

_PS: Thank you for not killing my fiancé._

Directly next to hers, was Po's message:

_Shifu,_

_First, you're totally bodacious, and second, you're awesome. Just thought you should know that. Because without you, I wouldn't be the totally awesome warrior I am today. You rock!_

_- Po Ping, Dragon Warrior_

_PS: Thanks for not killing me when I proposed to Tigress. I really appreciate it. Seriously, I really, __really__ appreciate it._

He arched an eyebrow at Po, who feigned an innocent expression when his hand strayed to Tigress' waist...

"Panda!" the red panda snapped.

"Gah!" Po recoiled.

The red panda glared, standing upon his chair. "I may have given you permission to marry my little girl—"

"Baba," Tigress hissed, knowing this wasn't the time.

"Let me finish, sweetie," he said sweetly to her. He returned his ire to Po, "You may be getting married to her, but under _no_ circumstances are you to _molest_ her in my presence!"

"Shifu," Ren hissed.

"Not now, Ren."

"No, Shifu, you should really pay atten—"

"I'm _perfectly_ aware of what I am seeing!"

"That's not what I—"

"He _wasn't_ molesting me!" Tigress argued, her temper stoked.

Ren raised his voice, "Shifu!"

"Ren, _not now_!" Shifu snapped.

The wolf finally growled, "Shifu, your _sleeve is on fire_!"

"…What?" The red panda looked and yelped; his sleeve had strayed too close to the lit candles on his cake while he was berating his soon-to-be son-in-law. Thinking quickly, he threw his cup of tea onto the burning sleeve, the fire dying with a hiss. Then he threw a quick glare at the one-eyed wolf,

"_Damn_ your eyes!"

Ren pointed to his eye patch with a wry smile. "Too late."

Once the laughter had died down, Shifu sighed and sat back down. Tigress sent a grateful look to Ren, who winked back at her. Yeying rolled her eyes and hopped up into her husband's lap.

"Why don't you finish reading everyone's notes, dear?" she calmly suggested, trying to quell the volatile situation between the son-in-law to-be and the father of the bride.

"Yeying, you can't honestly be alright with him inappropriately touching our little girl before they tie the—"

"Keep reading or I'll break your legs."

"Yes'm." Oh yes, he remembered her threats quite well. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, he continued to read…and was touched by the extended message he read next:

_Master Shifu,_

_Words can never express how greatly your influence and your guidance have helped the empire of China. Your patriotism, your determination and ambition, and most of all, your loyalty to your master, your friends and students provided an example to me for ruling our beloved country. Without your help, the peace we now enjoy would not have happened._

_Furthermore, I am grateful for how much you have contributed. It is you who restored the dynasty, you who brought us peace and prosperity through teaching the Dragon Warrior. This is a service that has cemented your name to the annals of history, and your name, it is safe to say, will outlast and live on in the memory of our people for years to come._

_Your greatest fan,_

_- His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of the Great Xian Dynasty, the Son of Heaven, Lord of Ten Thousand Years (I'm getting __really__ tired of these tedious titles) Xian Xin_

Well, if this tome wasn't valuable enough already, now, it was priceless! Who else could claim the honor that the Emperor himself had signed a personal message in their published work?

But, to his even greater shock were three names signed beneath a short message:

_Master Shifu, _

_Thanks again for supporting us after Daddy's passing. We'll never forget it, or you._

_- Song, Ying, and Jun =) _(Shifu assumed the smiley-face was Jun's doing)

But what caught his attention—and his breath—was a short, bittersweet note in the bottom right corner, as if just peeking out from behind the next page. The furtive calligraphy was instantly recognizable:

_I never wanted your apology. I want your forgiveness. If I had known about any of this, maybe I would have been a better son. I'm sorry, Baba._

_- Tai_

He had to fight to keep the tears at bay. He looked to Yeying, who saw which note had affected him so…and smiled, gently gripping his shoulder. So that was why it took so long to be delivered…and yet, he was grateful. All these short messages, these congratulations and prayers for good fortune were precious, but none so far as the emotional signatures of his two most precious possessions: his daughter, and now, his son.

Finally, that chapter in his life was done. He had moved on, and could live the rest of his life in peace, something he had craved for years. He closed the book's cover and rested his hand upon it, smiling. It had taken him months to write the 75-year span of his life, and months longer to edit and revise. But here, now, were the fruits of his labors. When he looked up and cast his eyes around the room, he corrected himself.

_No, look at all these faces, all these people I've been blessed to know. __This__ is my greatest accomplishment, memoirs be damned. _It had taken a long time, but for the first time, he was truly starting to appreciate his blessings. Even the horrible things that had happened to him, he was grateful for. As Master Jian Qiang had said when Shifu was still known as Little Fu: "how do we learn if we do not make mistakes?"; the old wolf was right. They were lessons well-learned.

Shifu looked over at his wife, holding her hand tightly. Forty years…the past forty years had to have been the greatest whirlwind he had ever known. In forty years, he had gained and lost and regained a son, gained a daughter, and gained honor by training the Dragon Warrior. And now…he had regained the love of his life, which, in his mind and his heart, was the greatest honor of all. How had he survived forty years without her?

"I wish you had come home sooner," he said. "There are so many things…"

"Don't," she said, gently pressing her fingers to his lips. "You said so yourself, do not dwell on the past. We have each other now." She kissed him softly. "I have you, and that's all I want."

Shifu smiled and tightly hugged her, kissing her cheek. In the silence that followed, Ochir finally asked, "So are you going to eat your cake or are we going to have to shove it in your face?"

Shifu scowled; Yeying laughed, "Might as well, your daughter worked hard to make it for you."

Shifu smiled at Tigress, who blushed modestly; "It wasn't that hard…"

"Don't sell yourself short, honey," Po said. "I mean, it was good for me after I tasted it."

Tigress glanced at Shifu, mischief in her eyes. "That's what she said."

Po paused, and when it hit him, he groaned, "Aw, Man!"

Tigress just grinned wickedly, earning a loud laugh from Mantis. "Nice!"

Yeying glared at Shifu, who was struggling to hold in a laugh. "I blame you! This is _your_ fault!"

"You married me!" he chuckled. "You had your chance!"

Yeying smiled and jabbed her husband in the ribs. "I also had the chance of marrying a fat old cat instead of you; some choice! But, 'that's what she said' jokes aside, you know I'm going to love you until the day we die."

"Yeying, _wo ai_, you know I don't want to think about…" he protested.

"Shifu, just shut up, eat your cake, and enjoy this moment."

Shifu looked into her eyes, smiling at her the way he did on their wedding day, realizing that now—truly—he would have her for the rest of his life, and that there was absolutely nothing to come between them now.

He chuckled and kissed her cheek, "Yes'm."

* * *

Final Author's Note: *takes a bow* My heartfelt thanks to everyone who sent a kind word or two during the composition of this fic; you all are monumentally amazing. This has been a wild ride, but I wouldn't regret it, ever. Most of all, if it weren't for everyone's encouragement, I don't think this would have ever been completed.

More personally, I would like to thank Nievelion, Falconmage, corset-rebellion-follower, KFP Reviewer, and so many others too numerous to name for your kind words and encouragements. Great fiction is thanks to readers like you. And it is from your feedback that I and other writers out there know that we have touched someone through our words; it is something too few experience.

And, most importantly, I need to thank the love of my life, for putting up with me during this intensive writing process.

Once again, thank you for reading. You will never know how much is it truly appreciated.

- Luna


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